Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Okay, so maybe Bakugou Katsuki isn’t the best college roommate. The guy’s a loudmouth, murder-glaring, foul-playing bastard with zero people skills and even less roommate skills. He’s obnoxious and annoying, always thinking about himself before others, and has this arrogant air about him that makes him insufferable to deal with.

    That’s what his roommate, Iida Tenya, told him, anyway. They’re second years in UA University and former high school classmates, so they decided to pair up just for convenience purposes. The first year was fine, since both were awkward and didn’t really know how to deal with cohabitation...

    ...But second year, Tenya’s had enough. “Bakugou-kun, please treat me seriously when I tell you that you really need to shape up.”

    “Fuck off, Glasses,” was Katsuki’s rude reply, and then a week later he’s got his stuff in boxes and this huge scowl on his face. So he lost the battle. Who fucking cares? He’ll win this war at the end, hell yeah he will.

    No he won’t. Just a couple days before he’s assigned a new roommate, his friend -- well, friend is really pushing it, but it’s probably the best descriptor since they’ve known each other for years -- Todoroki Shouto comes over when Katsuki’s in the middle of doing last-minute cleaning, and drops a bombshell that’ll ruin Katsuki’s life for the rest of eternity. “Wanna swap with me?”

    “Why the fuck would I swap with you, Half-and-half?” Katsuki grumbles under his breath as he dusts off every single dust speck he can find. He’s doing it because he’s a good fucking guy, even if he just got booted out of his own dorm room. The least he can do is leave a good final impression, even though that doesn’t undo the months of torment he’s given Tenya.

    Shouto shrugs in his nonchalant way, almost too nonchalant, a nonchalance that makes Katsuki want to chuck the guy out his (former) dorm window. The guy’s always so neutral about everything, which is ironic as hell given his opposite-looking appearance. Half his head’s a stark white, while the other’s a brilliant red. The fuck’s wrong with him.

    “I like Iida,” Shouto responds so blandly, like it’s no big deal.

    “Okay, and?” Katsuki says with an eyebrow raise.

    “I like Iida,” Shouto repeats, this time with a stronger emphasis on ‘like’, and suddenly the argument clicks in Katsuki’s head.

    “Oh, so you wanna whore yourself over to Glasses, huh? You’re gonna take advantage of this situation like the little bitch you are?” Katsuki never wastes a second; Shouto may be his “friend”, but he’s also Katsuki’s main subject of disgust. He’s rich and pretty and totally gets on the angry man’s nerves.

    Shouto rolls his eyes all perfect-like and it only grinds Katsuki’s gears harder. “I just like him, and my own roommate is looking for a new person, too. I just thought that this would be the ideal workaround, since you’re getting kicked from this place and all.”

    Katsuki can’t believe he’s listening to what Shouto’s saying. He’s listening. Since when did that happen? “Who’s your roommate?”

    “Midoriya,” Shouto replies, “Midoriya Izuku.”

    “Don’t know who the hell that is.”

    “He’s nice, and he’s a good friend.”

    “Don’t fucking care.”

    “You should care, because you should take this swap deal.” Shouto looks up at Katsuki expectantly, like this is the opportunity of a lifetime or whatever. “He and I have really conflicting lifestyles, so that’s why we agreed that we should find different roommates. And you’re looking for a new dorm, so why would you pass this up?”

    Katsuki growls and flings his duster at Shouto. His acquaintance catches it with ease, though he doesn’t look all too amused by the action. “Because I don’t even know who the hell that is. What if we’re not compatible?”

    “You’re not getting married,” argues Shouto, arching a perfect eyebrow. “You don’t have to be made for each other. You’re just living in the same place.”

    So Katsuki, kind of desperate for a place to actually stay in, reluctantly obliges. Tenya isn’t opposed to Katsuki swapping with Shouto either, since apparently he and Shouto have a class together or something, so yeah, it kind of does work out perfectly.

    Besides, there’s no way this Midoriya Izuku guy could fuck up Katsuki so bad, he’ll absolutely loathe coming back to the room after every long day, right?

    Wrong.

    The moment Katsuki meets Izuku for the first time, he wishes he could go back in time and roll Shouto’s whole candy-cane colored head. Fuck him, honestly.

Katsuki’s not embarrassed, but he is a little fidgety.

    He knows he doesn’t have to tell Izuku the whole story. The whole story in that he’s the reason he’s dorm-hunting, not the other way around. He wishes he could puff up his chest and say, proudly, that his roommate was such a slob and a prick that he couldn’t handle it anymore and that’s why he swapped with Shouto and is now breathing the same air as Izuku.

    Nope, he can’t say that, because even if he wants to believe that lie, Tenya was 100% not the problem. Tenya was cooperative and flexible -- he was actually really flexible for such a rigid code-of-honor guy -- and genuinely wanted to bond with Katsuki in a way roommates do. Not in a platonic way, not in a romantic way, just... as roommates. And although they were rarely in the same dorm at the same time due to their mismatched schedules, Tenya always made time to make sure Katsuki was eating okay or doing okay personally.

    So yeah, Katsuki’s the asshole here. Tenya was just trying to live his college life and Katsuki barreled in and ruined it. Thankfully they’re still on relatively good terms, since they still have each others’ numbers and it’s not like they’re avoiding each other like the plague, but yeah, it’s different now. Katsuki’s gonna have to “shape up”, as Tenya so lovingly put it.

    Now, Katsuki’s carrying boxes (personal items) in his arms and there’s some of his other moving boxes littered around Izuku’s door. He checks the front of the door just to make sure he’s at the right room number, and sure enough, the name “Midoriya Izuku” is written in green erasable marker. His handwriting is neat, if not a little scribbly, but legible enough. And he’s apparently a huge fan of that All Might hero anime, because he’s got stickers of All Might all over his hanging whiteboard.

    He shifts the cargo in his arms a little to knock on the door. Shouto texted Izuku earlier to warn him of Katsuki arriving at four pm sharp. It’s four pm. Sharp. Katsuki may look like a delinquent, but he’s never late.

    Katsuki waits for a good minute or two before frowning and knocking again. This time he earns some sort of response, this quiet “coming!” from the other side of the door that Katsuki barely hears. Internally he’s preparing himself for whoever this Izuku guy is. It’s a stupid name, Katsuki decides, because it’s written the same way someone would write “Deku” and that’s an insult that Katsuki used to call his classmates when he was in elementary school.

    Maybe Izuku will exceed all of Katsuki’s expectations and be this six foot three, 200 pound mass of muscle and grit, someone who could bench even Katsuki, who benches about 200 pounds himself because he’s so fucking strong. Is Katsuki taking up the Izuku-prediction spotlight in his brain? Hell yeah he is, he fucking loves being the main character.

    He then shifts his predictions to maybe someone meek and powerless, thin with gangly arms and wide-rimmed glasses. Maybe he’d still have his braces, too. Izuku watches All Might, so it’s not entirely impossible that he’s also the most unflattering anime nerd to ever walk this earth.

    Before he can come up with more concepts, Katsuki hears the door lock click and he feels his expectations wilt like a flower.

    Izuku looks completely and utterly normal. He’s about standard height, because Katsuki’s a little above average (five foot ten) and the top of Izuku’s head just about reaches his eyeline.

He’s just another college kid, a second year like Katsuki, with a plain-jane face and unruly curls. They’re green, or at least Katsuki thinks he’s green, because they clump over each other and create such dark shadows that Katsuki thinks maybe they can rival black holes. And Izuku’s eyes are large and wide, verdant like shady mint and watchful. They’re watching Katsuki right now.

    “Hi,” he greets the spiky-haired blond good-naturedly, a welcoming smile stretching across his freckled face. He’s not wearing braces, to Katsuki’s dismay (? He has no idea if he wanted Izuku to be wearing braces or if he just wanted some of his predictions to be correct). “You’re Bakugou Katsuki, right?”

    “In the flesh,” Katsuki replies, hoping the disappointment doesn’t reach his vocal chords.

    “Cool, it’s nice to meet you,” says Izuku as he moves out of the way so Katsuki can enter. He does, eyeing the walls and the furniture suspiciously.

They look... completely... normal. What the hell was Katsuki even expecting at this point? An All Might shrine? A secret lair full of dead bodies and knives and other shit like that? What, pray tell, was Katsuki so fucking disappointed about?

“I can help you move, if you want,” Izuku comments behind him.

“Nah,” Katsuki says dismissively as he drops his first box onto his newly stripped mattress. He looks at Izuku over again, and yeah, that guy looks so painfully average. His shirt is average, his pants are average; Katsuki supposes the only not-average thing about his appearance are his big red shoes, haphazardly tied and chunky, like poorly-cut tomatoes in a poorly-tossed salad.

His eyeline trails back to Izuku’s face, and what the hell, it’s just as average as the rest of his look. There’s virtually nothing that stands out, except for maybe his big eyes. They’re the biggest eyes Katsuki’s seen in his life.

“Um,” Izuku mutters quietly, likely figuring out that he’s being eyed up and down, “what’s up?”

“I can do that shit myself,” Katsuki finally finishes his train of thought, unconsciously knitting his brows together and clicking his tongue. Dammit, Izuku hasn’t reached any of his unspoken expectations. Izuku could literally just be a Deku -- pointless and worthless. “Don’t get in my way, Deku.”

He hears a gasp from the other guy, but he’s already turned his head and made his way to his loitering boxes. “Uh, my name-- my name is Izuku, actually.”

“No shit, ” yaps Katsuki as he lifts two boxes in his arms. He lifts 200 -- boxes are nothing. “What kind of idiot would name their kid Deku? I’m calling you Deku ‘cause you’re fucking useless.”

“I’m not--” Izuku starts before his own eyebrows downturn and his cheeks sort of puff up like a chipmunk. He looks so fucking stupid. “Really, I can help you move in. You have a lot of belongings and it’d just be more efficient, I think.”

“Oh my God, shut up.”

Izuku closes his mouth and glowers.

“Stop bothering me, Deku.”

Katsuki sounds like the biggest fucking dick on the planet, but that’s how he talks to literally anyone, and Izuku’s no exception. Either he learns to deal with it, or he moves out. Or, Katsuki remembers, Izuku kicks Katsuki out for being a shitty roommate. It’s happened once already, it can totally happen again.

Suddenly, Katsuki doesn’t feel like “shaping up” anymore. Izuku doesn’t deserve half of his “shaping up”. He doesn’t even deserve a quarter of it. Izuku’s just a nobody in a body that’s nothing, in a room that’s nothing, probably studying about nothing.

“Fine,” Izuku says back, and it’s not really hateful in the way Katsuki’s dialogue is. It’s more like it’s spiteful, like a final venom call from a dying snake. He already knows there’s no point, so he didn’t push. That’s about the most admirable thing Izuku’s done since they’ve met.

Katsuki unpacks in silence. Two minutes into the move-in, Izuku leaves the room, and Katsuki’s all alone again.

So Katsuki might not be the best roommate personality-wise, but he’s the best fucking roommate in just about every other aspect. He can cook -- really well, might he add -- and he can clean, and he’s not messy at all. He respects personal space, as crazy as that sounds, and yeah, maybe he comes back late all sloshed up sometimes, but Tenya didn’t have to open the door for him at three in the morning. That’s on Tenya for being nice.

UA University is this prestigious school where each dorm comes with a small kitchen area and a bathroom. The actual bedroom part of the dorm is pretty spacious too, meaning that there’s really no reason for you to feel cramped or anything. In exchange for this student luxury, the university requires students to still attend classes even during the summer break, which is ass, but Katsuki doesn’t care. He’s good in his classes and if that means he can live nicely, he’ll take it.

It’s like owning a studio apartment, except that it’s not, and... dammit, actually Katsuki kind of wishes now that he went for a studio apartment instead. At least he’d be alone and wouldn’t have to deal with dumbfuck roommates.

    And speaking of roommates, Izuku didn’t return for the rest of the day. It’s day two now of Katsuki-living-somewhere-else, and Izuku’s nowhere to be found. He didn’t leave with boxes or a suitcase or anything, so all his more intimate personal belongings are still in his dorm. All he brought with him was his phone, a yellow school bag, and his bottled anger.

    Katsuki doesn’t give a shit. He and Izuku didn’t start their roommate relationship on a high note, and Katsuki doesn’t feel like making it up to him. He doesn’t care enough about that plain-looking bastard with the plainest personality ever.

    He makes dinner for himself, chicken alfredo because he’s in an Italian mood, and eats the entire serving all by himself. He knows the place is gonna smell like chicken alfredo for a hot minute. Good, because then Izuku will know that he missed out. Fuck him, honestly.

    While eating, he eyes Izuku’s side of the dorm and rolls his eyes at how boring it looks. Katsuki thought he’d be an even bigger All Might fan, with All Might figurines and plushies or whatever the fuck obsessive fans do with their obsession. Maybe he’d even have an All Might bed set. That would’ve been fuckin’ hilarious.

    But nope, Izuku’s side is so uninteresting, Katsuki nearly falls asleep just looking at it. The closest thing he has to an All Might collective is an All Might-themed alarm clock. His wall mostly consists of sticky notes full of reminders and phone numbers, and there’s two posters, one of the All Might anime and one of a band Katsuki’s never heard of. League of Villains, which frankly sounds like some wannabe rock band that’s trying way too hard.

    For the most part, the most interesting part of Izuku’s side is that it’s kind of messy. His bed isn’t properly made and there’s some clothes just randomly thrown around. There’s also a stack of notebooks under his bed that Katsuki spots accidentally, but he couldn’t give less of a shit about the guy to snoop through his stuff.

    At least Tenya had a personality, an existence that was overly annoying for the most part but still something. He was orderly and a stickler for rules, he was a bit of a perfectionist, and he was also pretty overbearing at times.

    Izuku has nothing . All Katsuki knows is he likes dumb hero anime and some unknown band that probably sounds like shit, and that he’s not very tidy. He’d prefer Tenya’s stick-up-his-ass prickly attitude over fucking nothing.

“Fuck you.”

    “No thanks,” Shouto responds disinterestedly through the phone. “I’m not interested in man-children with anger issues.”

    Katsuki’s had enough of that guy’s sass. It’s day three of Katsuki-living-somewhere-else, and Izuku still hasn’t returned. He knows, because his bed looks the exact same with the exact same level of pigsty. His clothes are still in the same places and all his belongings are still in the exact same stations.

    Did Katsuki bother Izuku so much, he just stood up and left for good? Well damn, cross “annoy a roommate to the point of spontaneous eviction” off of Katsuki’s bucket list.

    And he’d find a way to be proud of it on a normal day, but Katsuki’s getting pissed. He’s been cleaning around the dorm in his free time, after his classes, and specifically ignores Izuku’s side. Fuck him, he doesn’t deserve cleaning. His half can attract flies and Katsuki won’t do shit.

    Izuku is his roommate. He hates it, but it’s the truth. And he knows, ideally, he should have a cooperative relationship with the person he’s living with, but so far they’ve only had bad blood and they’ve only had one conversation.

    This has all got to be part of Shouto’s ploy to give Katsuki the worse end of their deal while he gets to flirt with his stupid robot-man crush. That has to be it, and nothing to do with Katsuki’s rotten personality. This has absolutely nothing to do with his rotten personality. Nothing.

    And he tells Shouto that, word for word. And Shouto laughs coldly through the speaker and says “no Bakugou, you’re just the worst.”

    “I know that!” Katsuki barks as he throws down his broom. “But what, I tell off that bastard once and suddenly he’s gone forever?! This damn dorm is too fuckin’ big for me to take care of every single day!”

    “Thought you said you preferred living alone,” Shouto muses.

    “I said that before I knew what it was fucking like to live alone!” He knows he sounds like a whiny cry-baby throwing a tantrum, especially given how it’s only been two and a half days, technically, but what kind of bitch leaves his dorm room for two and a half days? Is he fucking stupid or is he fucking petty or is he this sick mix of both?

    Shouto hums, the sound picking up the idle static in their connection. “Midoriya’s probably hanging out with one of our friends. He does that when he’s upset.”

    Upset, huh? Katsuki knows he’s to blame for that...

    “But for three straight days, Candy Cane?”

    “He’s gone weeks away from his dorm before. Once, we got into this really heated argument over that All Might anime he loves so much and he ran out in tears. And then he stayed at our friend’s dorm for like a month.”

    “The fuck is wrong with him?”

    “He’s just sensitive.” Shouto sighs, “not like that’d matter to you at all.”

    “You know I don’t do well with sensitive people,” Katsuki gripes as he picks up his broom again and continues his sweeping. He lodges the phone in between his shoulder and his ear so his right hand can hold the dustpan. “Why didn’t you fuckin’ tell me that I’m dealing with a toddler?”

    His friend scoffs, clearly finding Katsuki’s statement humorous. “Ironic, since you’re also super sensitive about everything. You’re so trigger happy, Bakugou. Stop acting like you’re above it all and just accept that you have touchy feelings like Midoriya does.”

    “Fuck no. He and I are nothing alike,” spits Katsuki as he sweeps faster.

    “You don’t know that. You talked to him like, once.”

    “I just know, okay?”

    “Give yourself like two more conversations with him and you’ll realize just how wrong you are.”

    And that’s when Shouto hangs up on him, without even some sort of “goodbye” or “you’ll thank me”. Katsuki resists the primal urge to throw his phone on the ground and stomp on it until it’s smashed to bits.

Fucking finally, on day four, Izuku returns to the dorm.

    Katsuki is laying on his bed, playing some shitty mobile game on his phone, when he hears the door creak open. He doesn’t look up from said shitty mobile game because he knows exactly who it is, and he doesn’t need to look at that nerd any more than he already has. He already wastes enough space in Katsuki’s brain and that space is the size of a pebble.

    Izuku doesn’t say anything as he quietly pads over to his bed and flops onto it, face first as his curly hair hits the pillow. It frays out like a midsummer blossom. It’s fucking weird.

    The time reads eight-forty in the evening. Izuku doesn’t say anything about wanting to eat anything or having eaten anything at his friend’s dorm or anything, really. All he does is lie there. It’s actually kind of unsettling now that Katsuki steals another glance and he looks like a dead guy.

    “Hey,” he croaks out.

    Izuku doesn’t respond with words, but with a slow thump of his fist against the cozy comforter.

    “The fuck’s going on with you?” Katsuki asks as he sits up. He throws his phone onto his pillow and stares at his roommate, giving him his full attention, something Katsuki never does. Nobody in this world is worth Katsuki’s full attention, and yet he’s lending it to some useless loser who ran away for three and a half days because he has feelings.

    His roommate apparently doesn’t have the same idea in mind, because he continues to ignore Katsuki like he’s lower than loam.

    “Deku, if you don’t respond to me, I’m going to rip that shitty All Might poster off your wall and shove it down your throat.”

    “I got rejected,” is Izuku’s instant response. Maybe it’s thanks to the threat, or the fact that Izuku feels ready to actually have a conversation with Katsuki, the guy who told him he’s basically nothing . “That’s it. Leave me alone.”

    His voice is still muffled by the mattress, and since Katsuki can’t see his face, he continues to look like a decaying corpse. Katsuki feels a twinge of sympathy (only a twinge, because he doesn’t feel sympathy towards Izuku period, so this is more than normal) because he knows what it’s like to feel rejected. Yeah, Katsuki was rejected too, once upon a time, in high school no less. He tried confessing to some boy and got told, to his face, that he wasn’t worth loving. Which he guessed he deserved because his personality was even worse during those years. Anyway, he knows those talks sting like a bitch.

    Katsuki isn’t sure if he should comfort the little bitch or ignore the little bitch. He did say “leave me alone”, which is some pretty obvious code-wording for “don’t talk to me”, and Katsuki uses it all the time when he’s pissed.

    Getting off his bed, the blond ambles over to the kitchen and pulls out leftover pasta from their fridge. So he lied about eating all the chicken alfredo. He made too much and he’s not stuffing it down his gullet because he knows about portion control, and besides, some sulky, shitty nerd probably needs it more than he does right now.

    He sealed in a tupperware earlier, so he has absolutely no regrets when he chucks the thing at Izuku’s head. He hears an “ow!” before that mop of hair finally lifts up to glare at Katsuki. His eyes and nose are red, and he looks like he hasn’t slept in... well, three and a half days.

    “Eat,” Katsuki commands, pointing at the pasta he just hurled at Izuku.

    “I already ate dinner,” Izuku replies with a sniffle.

    Katsuki raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. He’s staring right down at the guy, no doubt intimidating him and shaking him to his core, probably. Katsuki loves doing that.

    Izuku remains unaffected. “What?” Wow, that bothers Katsuki way more. Izuku can be as unhelpful as he wants, but it’s like he deals with people like Katsuki on the daily. There’s absolutely zero fear in his eyes, and he just stares back with this resolute look, like he’s going to someday suffocate Katsuki in his sleep.

    Hah, Izuku can try. Katsuki’s got reflexes like a cat. “I don’t fucking care if you already ate. You look like shit and you probably feel like shit and pasta’s comfort food so fucking eat. ”

    “Thanks,” Izuku says with a sarcastic roll of his eyes, but he indeed sits up and gently reaches for the tupperware. “Gimme a fork or something?”

    “Get that yourself. What, suddenly you can’t walk?”

    “You’re so nice, ” Izuku hisses as he climbs out of bed. “I bet you have a lot of friends. ”

    Katsuki wants to rip his roommate’s head clean off his shoulders, and he can probably do it too, since Katsuki benches 200. Has he mentioned that he benches 200? He could end Izuku’s whole career if he really wanted, but he’s not a killer, even if he sometimes looks like one.

    “Our taste in friends are both ass, since we’re both friends with Half-and-half,” Katsuki jeers, pulling out his phone again to play that shitty mobile game again. What’s he doing again? Oh yeah, farming.

    Izuku crawls back onto his bed with a fresh new plastic fork in his hand. He also warmed the pasta -- Katsuki can tell because the alfredo scent is thicker now. “Todoroki-kun is nice,” he says before stabbing the pasta with all the force in the universe.

    “Are you murdering that shit? I promise you, the chicken is already dead.”

    “I can’t tell if I’m happy you gave me pasta so I should be eating it gratefully, or angry that you’re a jerk so I should be eating it reluctantly.”

    “Do both. I made it myself, so you’re allowed to feel all the unparalleled feelings in the world towards it.”

    Izuku stops beating the life out of the Italian food. He looks up, eyes wide. “You made this?”

    “And what of it.”

    “You can cook? ”

    Katsuki is this close to throwing his phone at Izuku’s face at lightning speed. He might just do it too. His phone’s already in his hand and it’s quick ammo. “Listen here, Deku, just because I look and sound like this, does not mean I’m incapable of doing basic living. Of course I can fucking cook. I can cook like a five-star chef.”

    “Oh.” It doesn’t sound remotely angry or resentful or anything like Izuku’s been presenting himself for the past like ten minutes. It sounds pleasantly surprised. Maybe even a little happy. Who knows, Katsuki fucking hates understanding people.

    Izuku takes a whole fork-full of pasta -- it’s like five of the little noodles at once because he was so determined on skewering the entire thing in one go -- and shoves it in his mouth. It makes his freckled cheeks balloon out. It’s fucking disgusting. But Katsuki supposes it’s not terrible when Izuku’s entire face lights up and he says, through a stuffed mouth, “hey, this is really good.”

    “Yeah, because I don’t fuckin’ lie about my cooking skills.”

    “You really made this yourself?”

    “What did I just say? ”

    His roommate shrugs as he simply forces more pasta and chicken down his mouth, eating and eating until his eyes start watering again and tears are rolling down his cheeks like large morning dew droplets. It’s kind of a sight, but not for sore eyes or anything. It’s more like Katsuki suddenly feels the need to hug that nerd, but he’s not doing that shit. Izuku gets like 5% of Katsuki’s sympathy. That’s where it maxes out.

    Instead, Katsuki says, “wanna talk about it?”

    Izuku shakes his head firmly. “No,” he replies after he swallows a thick clump of alfredo.

    Secretly, Katsuki’s glad his roommate turned down his offer, because Katsuki’s absolutely horrendous at talking about feelings. He’s always just told himself to suck it up whenever he’s sad, and he doesn’t think that kind of advice will help in this scenario. (He’s actually confident that advice won’t help in any scenario, even his own. It’s not like it’s made him feel any better about anything. But Katsuki is as stubborn as a mule so he’s not gonna admit his faults like the better man or something like that.)

    “Fine then,” responds Katsuki as he rolls over on his mattress and closes his eyes. “Don’t get alfredo sauce on your sheets or I’ll kill you.”

    He doesn’t hear a verbal response, only another sniffle, but that’s really all Katsuki needed for confirmation.

Two weeks pass and Katsuki and Izuku are basically the exact same as they were after the pasta incident (that’s what Katsuki’s calling it until further notice). They don’t talk, like at all, and Katsuki really does mean that they don’t share words. Like. At all. They wake up at around the same time every day, because they usually have morning classes at the same time, but they don’t say good morning, they don’t talk about breakfast or their dreams or whatever Tenya used to do with Katsuki, and they continue ignoring each other until it’s time to sleep for the night.

    Katsuki doesn’t give a shit about this lifestyle. He hates talking anyway, so it’s not like he’s trying aggressively to get Izuku to converse with him. And after two weeks, Katsuki has noticed that Izuku isn’t all that social either, always hunched over his personal desk or his bed or something doing fuckall on his laptop.

    They’re out of each other's way. Good, that’s all Katsuki ever wanted, a roommate that doesn’t pester him every damn day. He would’ve preferred someone a little more interesting to live with, but Katsuki can’t exactly be picky given how he’s the reason this mess even started. And he’s already been a bitch to Izuku enough just for literally existing, so what else can he even do at this point?

    It’s approaching the middle of July, which Katsuki knows from experience is brutal in UA dorms. They may be swanky livin’, but they don’t have personal AC units. They have to end up sweating it out most of the time.

    Katsuki fucking hates the summer. It’s bearable most of the time, but especially during the hotter days he feels like a toasting loaf of bread in an oven set to hell heat. He’s got abnormally high body temperature, probably because he’s so fucking angry all the time, so the moment that humid summer warmth wafts through his dorm room he feels like he’s going to die of heat exhaustion.

    It’s why he never hangs around his room during mid-July if he can’t help it. Sometimes he’d just spend hours at the nearby ice cream parlor because he can guarantee that place being at least somewhat conditioned. Or other times he’d just stay in class longer, just in the back so he’s not blocking anyone, and whoever tells him to leave gets socked in the face.

    So imagine his surprise when he returns to the dorm at six in the evening just to see Izuku, shirtless and sweaty, sitting in front of their opened fridge.

    He’s inclined to say nothing. He hasn’t said anything to Izuku for days straight, he can go another day longer. He can go another month longer. Maybe a whole semester, or a whole school year. Katsuki’s very good at ignoring people.

    But he looks so fucking stupid. Izuku always looks stupid, but he looks especially stupid right now.

    “The fuck?” he mutters, but it comes out more like a pant because the dorm is so fucking hot. Just like Katsuki thought, the place is practically a sauna.

    Izuku looks up and his green eyes fumble on Katsuki’s scarlet ones. His face grows red, well, redder than it already is with the heat and all. “Um, hello.”

    “You’re wasting fridge energy,” Katsuki grumbles, but he doesn’t pull Izuku from his spot. He sees the merit behind doing such a ridiculous thing. He was actually thinking it himself, but he’s got dignity so he’s resorted to more normal solutions, like switching up the location.

    “Yeah, well, it’s nice,” Izuku retorts with a pout. Sweat is practically pouring down his face. Katsuki notes that his nerdy, plain-as-hell roommate isn’t as skinny as he thought. He apparently loves wearing big clothes to obscure his figure, because he’s actually got a bit of a build on him.

    What Izuku does to keep that build is none of Katsuki’s fucking business, and he doesn’t fucking care. He could be going to the fucking gym every single day and Katsuki wouldn’t bat an eye.

He stomps through the entrance and collapses on his bed, but that doesn’t feel any better because the bed’s got comforters and blankets and bedsheets and Katsuki so wants to uproot them all from the frame and chuck them out his window. They only make him feel even stuffier, and that’s the exact opposite of what Katsuki wants right now.

“Fuck!” he shouts into his pillow. “This place is hotter than fucking hell itself! ”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Izuku says from his position in front of the fridge. He sounds smug as shit. Katsuki wants to slam the fridge doors on his face. “It’s really cool over here.”

“I am not joining you in front of our fucking fridge, ” Katsuki retaliates, and if he had more energy in him right now, he’d’ve added a pretty menacing growl.

Izuku whistles. “Okay, it’s your loss.”

Katsuki tears off his t-shirt and hurls it against Izuku’s All Might poster. The blond, buff superhero only smiles cheesily back in reply. “Fuck you, Deku. Fuck you and your stupid fucking poster and your stupid fucking side of the room and your stupid fucking hogging! ”

“Hey,” Izuku whines, “don’t throw your clothes at my wall! And especially at All Might!”

“ Fuck you, nerd!”

“And besides, I didn’t say you couldn’t join me,” Izuku continues, and Katsuki sees him eye roll.

“I’m not joining you.”

“Then stop complaining about me hogging.”

This is the most they’ve said to each other in forever. Katsuki isn’t even sure how he’s supposed to continue the conversation, so he doesn’t. He flops back onto his bed, arms outstretched and torso leaning off the edge of the mattress, as he angrily pounds the sheets with his fist.

He should calm down, maybe that’ll decrease the body temperature under his own skin, but he’s not calming down for shit. He’s not calming down for fucking nature, and he’s not calming down for shitty Deku of all people. He won’t even calm down for Shouto, so Izuku is an even further impossibility.

Minutes later, he hears footsteps from his left side. Katsuki looks up and sees Izuku handing him a water bottle.

“You look like you’re dying,” is Izuku’s reasoning. He doesn’t look very happy about talking to Katsuki, and for good reason, but his hands are determined in giving the pissy man his water. “Put this against your neck or something.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Katsuki responds instinctually, but he takes the bottle anyway. It’s super cold, chilled to the touch, and when he presses it on his neck he feels a kind of relief he’s never felt before. Damn, he should do this more often. Put cold water against his skin when he’s hot, not throw a fit until Izuku babies him.

And Izuku smiles, but it’s probably because Katsuki finally fucking shut up.

“Thanks,” the blond mumbles, “or whatever.”

“No problem,” replies the freckled roommate, “or whatever.”

“Ha-ha. Bet you find my tantrums absolutely riveting, don’t you.”

“I hate them. But I guess they’re a part of you, so it’s not like I’m going out of my way to change the way you live. I don’t have all the time in the world.”

That’s the fairest assessment of Katsuki’s personality anyone has ever said. It’s not pretentious like Shouto’s, who more-or-less tells him that he’s dogshit every day for being aggressive. And it’s not misunderstanding like Tenya’s, who basically just wants Katsuki to behave like a normal fucking person without realizing that that’s probably not even possible for him.

Izuku’s is the most comforting, a basic acceptance that his roommate is batshit insane.

Okay, so maybe Katsuki might not mind Izuku that much after all.

It’s five days later and it’s Izuku’s birthday.

    Katsuki isn’t actually aware of this because Izuku never told him. Then again, he never told Izuku his birthday, so whatever. Guess it’s fair. Anyway, he feels a little shitty about it, because he knows how birthdays are really important for some people. For example, they’re somehow very important to Tenya, so even though they weren’t exactly friends for, well, ever, Katsuki would bake him a cake every year and let him blow out the candles and make his wish.

    They’re not important to Shouto at all. He doesn’t ask for anything. He doesn’t even mention it being his birthday half the time. Katsuki doesn’t mind this at all because it means less work for him.

    But he has no clue if Izuku cares about his birthday. He probably does, because after the fridge incident (that’s what he’s calling the day the two actually got along for the first time), Katsuki realized that Izuku’s kind of a sap. He’s good at hiding it, but he can only hide it for so long as an All Might fanboy. He may not have a lot of merch but he sure fawns over that anime like it rivals Shakespeare.

    Katsuki only found out on the day of, when he was texting Shouto and his stupid-ass friend casually brought up Izuku’s birthday in the conversation. What the hell! Does it look like Katsuki has time to buy anything, or even bake a fucking cupcake?!

    And when Katsuki asked whether or not Izuku’s a fan of birthdays, Shouto sent a frustratingly vague “who knows?”, so now Katsuki is going to find Shouto, who now lives in his old dorm with his old roommate, and beat his ass.

    It’s not like Katsuki likes Izuku now. It’s more like this silent mutual agreement that maybe, maybe, they can be normal fucking roommates, not people who constantly get on each others’ nerves like it’s some Olympic sport. They have each others’ numbers now, even though they haven’t texted at all, and he does feel kind of bad about being that rude to Izuku when they first met. Kind of, because that nerd’s still pretty annoying when he rambles about arbitrary shit at times, like when he’s staring intently at his laptop screen and mumbling with his thumb on his lips and it’s so fucking stupid.

    Anyway, Katsuki decides that the most he can make out of the amount of time he has right now is a batch of cookies. He doesn’t know what Izuku’s favorite kind of cookie is, because Katsuki doesn’t just ask dumbfuck questions like that to people he barely knows. He figures he’ll go with chocolate chip cookies, because everybody likes those, and if you don’t like them then you’re not a real person.

    Katsuki finishes his baking a lot earlier than expected. He’s in the floor’s communal kitchen, because each room doesn’t have its own oven for some lame reason. They have a stove but not an oven and Katsuki thinks that’s stupid as hell, but he’s got no power to change that.

    “Whoa, smells good!” Katsuki hears a voice from behind him. He turns and recognizes him as Kirishima Eijirou, some guy in his modern lit lecture class. He’s seen him around, but his style’s way too trusting and dimwitted for Katsuki’s taste. He’s got red hair that reaches the middle of his neck and this small scar over his right eye, and his aura reeks of manliness.

    Eijirou doesn’t seem to get that Katsuki’s totally fucking judging him right now. He grins a pointy-toothed grin, “you making them for someone special?”

    “Hell no,” Katsuki responds immediately, even though he technically is. That someone isn’t special though. He’s the exact opposite of special.

    The guy tilts his head before his eyes brighten and he thumps his clenched fist against his palm, like he just solved a mystery. “Hey, you’re the guy who Iida kicked out!”

    That’s what he’s known for around here? Damn, UA is cruel. “Fuck off. That shit’s none of your business,” Katsuki grumbles in his Katsuki way. As he does so, he slides the cooled cookies off the tray, puts them in a tupperware and seals it affirmatively with a green lid.

    “Bakugou, isn’t it?” Eijirou continues like he wasn’t told just then to zip it. “You’re in one of my lectures. I remember you; and nice job on that group presentation last week! The way you displayed all that information was so manly!”

    “Oh my God, do you ever shut up?” Katsuki growls as he swings open the communal kitchen door and heads off to his dorm. He hears Eijirou from behind him. Looks like he’s not trailing.

    “See you in class!” he calls through the hallways and Katsuki musters just the right amount of energy to flip him off.

Deku

---

Thank you for the cookies, Bakugou-kun! (´ q ` ” )
They tasted so good!
And thank you for the birthday note, even if it was only two words (*~▽~)

---

---

Why the fuck do you use those emojis
Also you’re welcome

---

---

Because they’re fun. d=(´▽｀)=b

---

---

You’re so fucking lame

---

---

Rude!!! =͟͟͞͞( •̀д•́)))
They add so much flair to texting!
You should try it sometime
It’s not as bad as you think! ( ‾᷅⚰‾᷄ )

---

---

Hell no
I’m not reaching your level of nerd Deku

---

---

(ᇂ∀ᇂ╬)
STOP CALLING ME DEKU!!! (╬ಠ益ಠ)
That’s not my name!!! And it’s not a flattering word to begin with.

---

---

I’m not calling you by your real name
You’re just Deku to me

---

---

It sucks!!! You suck!!!
Fine, if you get to call me a nickname, then I get to call YOU a nickname too. (¬､¬)
“Bakugou-kun” is too polite. 눈_눈

---

---

LOL good luck finding an insulting nickname

---

---

It doesn’t have to be insulting
Maybe just embarrassing. (ﾉﾟ∇ﾟ)
How about Katsuki-chan?
It makes you sound like a girl.

---

---

I’ll rip your head off Deku

---

---

Or Kacchan?

---

---

NO
DEKU
DON’T

---

---

Σ(･o･;)
Kacchan it is!!!
Glad we could reach this agreement, Kacchan. (ര̀ᴗര́)و ̑̑

---

---

I will literally smother you in your fucking sleep
Keep one eye open shitty Deku

---

---

Hehehe
Looking forward to it, Kacchan! ٩( ᐛ )و

---

Katsuki stares at the text conversation he and Izuku had yesterday and feels the sudden desire to grab the nearest pair of scissors and stab his phone screen relentlessly until it dies. Their first official text conversation and it’s about nicknames.

    He and Izuku are not friends. They’re not even ideal roommates yet. They just share a dorm and talk sometimes and okay maybe Katsuki baked him cookies, but that doesn’t mean shit. It was his fucking birthday so that itself is his excuse.

    The fact that Izuku gave him such an intimate nickname like “Kacchan” despite being a discount enemy to Katsuki is enough to drive the blond insane, but to add insult to injury, he’s only doing it to spite Katsuki’s usage of “Deku”. Like Izuku refuses to be some punching bag or something. It’s disgusting.

    He must be glaring at his phone way too hard, because he feels a tap on his arm and it’s from Shouto’s cold hands. Dammit, it’s fucking July and that guy’s got freezing fingers and it’s just not fucking fair.

    “What are you glaring at?” he asks as they eat on popsicles on one of the campus benches. Shouto said he was craving something cold, and Katsuki hated to admit it but he was too. So they decided to meet up and eat under the big main tree, visible from the main campus entrance. They used to go there a lot more frequently during their first year to study up for tests and presentations.

    “Shitty Deku and his shitty text messages,” Katsuki grouses, eyes never leaving the screen.

    “Deku?”

    “Your old roommate. The freckled bastard with the stupid fucking bed head.”

    “Oh, Midoriya?” Shouto asks with a narrowing of his eyes. “Why are you insulting him?”

    “‘Cause his real name is written just like Deku’s written, and that’s gotta be some sort of sign. And he’s just as useless as his name is.”

    Shouto sighs as he bites into his popsicle. Katsuki winces, very dramatically, because what kind of heathen bites into popsicles? “Why are you so mean to him? He’s genuinely a good guy. He doesn’t deserve your bullshit.”

    “ You’re the one who told me to move in with him so you can get dicked down by your crush,” Katsuki retorts as he licks his own popsicle because he is not a heathen.

    Shouto flushes a slight pink at the mental image, but he shakes his head quickly to remove it from his brain. “I’m not joking, Bakugou. You have to treat your roommate nicer than that. I’ll bet my entire life savings that Midoriya doesn’t insult you the way you insult him.”

    Technically Izuku has insulted Katsuki before, mostly his attitude, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary. Katsuki mumbles a “yeah, yeah” under his breath, peeking at the text conversation again. “Well, he’s got his own nickname for me now, so fair’s fair.”

    “Oh?”

    “Shut up. I’m not telling you anything.”

    “Then why’d you bring it up?”

    “To defend my honor, asshole! ”

    “I want to hear the nickname,” Shouto says with those heterochromatic eyes piercing Katsuki’s. Katsuki fucking hates them. Shouto thinks he can get away with literally everything because he’s a pretty boy with money and status and a (shitty, apparently) dad who could pay for like a million lamborghinis. It’s so infuriating.

    Katsuki knocks him upside the head with his phone. He doesn’t give a shit when Shouto yelps that Katsuki mussed up his hair. Fuck off with that, he could comb his fingers through it and it’d be right back to normal. He hates that guy so much.

    “I said, you don’t get to hear shit.”

    “You’re the worst,” says Shouto with an apathetic glare.

    “I hear that a lot. Mostly from you too, so fuck you,” says Katsuki back with a snarl.

    “Just saying,” mutters the taller student as he bites on the icy again, “that sooner or later you’ll have to change how you treat people.”

    “Either they get used to it or they leave. That’s how it’s always been.”

    “That’s a terrible mentality.”

    “I don’t need to hear shit from your mouth, rich boy. You’re not the nicest fucking person in the world either.”

    Shouto shrugs before standing up, stretching his torso and his arms before extending a hand to Katsuki. The blond swats it away because he doesn’t need help getting up from a fucking campus bench. “I’m not saying I’m the nicest, but at least I’m not a constant dick about everything and everyone. It rubs people the wrong way, you know.”

    Katsuki rolls his eyes. “Need I remind you the time you practically threatened some guy’s life because he almost got a better score than you on some dumbass test that didn’t fucking matter?”

    “That was years ago,” Shouto responds, deadpanned. “I was fifteen. You’re twenty right now.”

    “Well then shit, I guess we’re fuckin’ made for each other. You and I were both assholes when we met, and I don’t doubt you’re any less of an asshole now.”

    “Just think about it,” Shouto says with a final sigh. “Your act gets tiring to take in all the time.”

Act?

    Oh, Katsuki will show Shouto acting.

    Izuku arrives home at ten-thirty in the evening, way later than usual, probably due to intensely finishing up a group project at the library. His hair is sticking wildly everywhere, more than it usually is, and his eyes are half-lidded. The moment he enters the dorm, he makes a beeline for his bed and doesn’t move until Katsuki’s standing right over him.

    “Go shower,” Katsuki says. Izuku’s been out the whole day, and he’s not about to stink up the place.

    “Too tired,” muffles Izuku as he turns his head to the side, pressing one of his freckled cheeks against his pillow. His eyes glide up to Katsuki’s before they flutter closed. “Gonna sleep.”

    “No the fuck you’re not,” Katsuki demands as he yanks Izuku’s arm up and he squeals. “Get ready for bed first, at least. Christ.”

    “Then carry me, Kacchan,” Izuku says with a short laugh.

    There’s that absurd nickname again. Katsuki knows it’s a tease. He knows, okay. He’s smart and clever and knows when people joke about things. And Izuku sighs back into his mattress, so he’s definitely under the impression that he’s not moving for the night.

    Well, fuck that guy, because Katsuki’s lifting Izuku from the waist and carrying him over his shoulder, ignoring the sudden flustered stammers coming from his roommate’s mouth. “Ba-- Kacchan! Hey-- wait-- let go! ”

    He’s kicking and punching, but he’s not putting up a real fight at all. Katsuki feels Izuku’s shirt ride up and his skin rub against Katsuki’s upper arm, but before he can even begin to process that, he’s plopping Izuku in the empty bathtub. “There, you’ve been carried, nerd. Now take a fucking shower.”

    Izuku’s face is all red, a stark contrast to his typically fair skin, the freckles practically dissolving in the flush. He’s blubbering like an idiot. He is an idiot.

    And then he swiftly drags the shower curtain to cover himself, and that’s when Katsuki knows this conversation is over.

    Katsuki can be nice. He can be, and he has been. He’s gotten his friends somehow. It’s not like he’s so unbearably attractive and hot and something-or-other that everyone just gravitates towards him. He is unbearably attractive and hot and something-or-other, but that’s obviously not enough to garner him friends like Shouto and maybe even Tenya if he’s being generous.

    He just chooses not to be nice on average, because it’s fucking lame. He hates wearing his heart on his sleeve, hates being vulnerable to people, and hates being read.

    But fine, if Shouto wants him to change that bad, and thinks his pissybaby anger-issues persona are just some twisted, fucked-up act, then he’ll put Shouto in his goddamn place. He’s had enough of his high-horse attitude, like he’s any fucking better.

Katsuki’s modern lit lecture class assigns another group project, this time about researching some dude he’s never heard of and doesn’t care about. He gets to choose the dude, but he doesn’t want to choose any dude. He doesn’t want to do this fucking project.

    Before he shoves all his stuff in his bag, he’s approached by two people. One of them is Eijirou -- Katsuki instantly knows by the hair and the teeth -- and the other is a short-ish girl with a brown bob-cut. “Hey, man!” calls Eijirou like they’ve known each other since they were babies or something.

    “What,” Katsuki very intelligently responds.

    “Well, we were wondering if you’d wanna team up with us on this project,” Eijirou says with a grin. “It didn’t look like you were scouted out earlier, or that you were doing any scouting yourself.”

    “What if I wanted to do it all by myself?” retorts the blond with an exhausted eye roll. He’s tired and wants to go back to his dorm so he can lie on his stomach and do absolutely fucking nothing. He looks forward to that every single day.

    The girl shakes her head. “It’s a team-based project only.”

    “And who the fuck are you?”

    She pouts, round face puffing up with irritation as she hitches her hands on her hips. She reminds Katsuki of strawberry mochi, since her outfit’s a light pink and her cheeks are chubby (even if the rest of her looks pretty standard). “Uraraka Ochako! Come on, I’ve been in this class since the start of the semester.”

    Katsuki grunts as he swings his bag over his shoulder. “It’s a fucking lecture. I don’t give a damn about who’s in this class.”

    “As callous as ever, huh?” Eijirou comments with a hearty laugh and a slap on Katsuki’s shoulder. Katsuki wants to rip his arm from his socket and slap his stupid happy face with his own hand. Why do people feel positive emotions. That shit’s revolting.

    “Anyway,” Ochako says, “join us, okay? You’re going to need a group, and we’re pretty sure everyone else is grouped up already. We need you as our third person.”

    “You don’t need me for shit, ” says Katsuki, but secretly it feels kinda nice to be needed, so he agrees begrudgingly.

    Modern lit is his last class of the day, so he makes his way to his dorm under the six PM sun. On his way home, he gets a couple texts from the shittiest fucking person alive: Shouto. They haven’t really talked since that time they went to get popsicles and Shouto burned Katsuki’s pride so hard he still has burn marks.

Icy Hot

---

Midoriya told me you baked him cookies for his birthday.
That’s not like you at all. Did you poison them with cyanide?
I worry for his safety.

---

    Katsuki’s ready to absolutely clobber that half-and-half bastard. He’s really pushing all of Katsuki’s buttons -- first he says he should be nicer, then he wrongly assumes that Katsuki’s anger is all fake, and then has the gall to think he’d poison his roommate like he’s some criminal mastermind just waiting to get caught.

---

I will fucking kill you in your fucking sleep
Fuck off
I didn’t poison him
And I’m not fucking interested in getting a life sentence to PRISON so stop fucking around

---

---

Just saying.
It’s so unlike you.

---

---

You’re really being a bitch lately

---

---

Nothing compared to you.
Anyway, Midoriya’s calling you “Kacchan” now.
How cute. It sounds like a girly nickname for elementary schoolers.

---

 

---

DO YOU WANT TO DIE????

---

---

Not really. Not yet, anyway.
Glad to hear you and Midoriya are getting along.

---

---

Yeah because maybe I’m actually a fucking gentleman who cares DEEPLY for the people around me
I’m fucking fantastic
So fucking kind
A hero
I’m perfect and amazing and so fucking cool
So there

---

---

That’s hilarious, Bakugou.

---

Katsuki, Eijirou and Ochako are at the library after their classes. It’s to work on that project about some dude. It’s eight in the evening and both Eijirou and Ochako are doing fucking nothing, leaving Katsuki with all the work.

    “Can you guys at least pretend to give a shit about this thing?” Katsuki groans as he focuses his tired eyes on the cited website in front of him. The guy’s some famous poet or whatever; Katsuki genuinely, seriously, honestly, truthfully could not give any goddamn cares in the world for this guy. Katsuki doesn’t even care about modern lit as a whole. He’s only taking it to fulfill credit requirements. He’s actually a chem major and all this reading and poetry research is killing his STEM brain cells.

    “I do care about this thing,” Ochako replies as she shamelessly scrolls through her phone. “Give me a minute.”

    “More like give you five goddamn hours. Hell, I thought you liked literature.”

    “I do!”

    “No you fucking don’t! ”

    “Guys, guys,” Eijirou says with a clipped laugh, “let’s not argue in the library.” He’s not any better though. His laptop may be opened, which is already a step up from Ochako, but he’s on the fucking new tab page.

    Katsuki’s grouped with two idiots. That’s finally obvious to him. And for the first and very likely last time in his college career, he wishes Izuku were one of his partners. He knows that, even if he’s some boring nobody, he at least bothers with his education. Katsuki doesn’t affectionately call him “nerd” for nothing.

    “Who the hell are you even texting, Round Face?” Katsuki whisper-shouts, scrunching up his face in annoyance.

    “My friend,” she says absentmindedly. “He’s not responding, though.”

    “Yeah, probably because he’s actually got things to do, like, oh I don’t know, what you should be doing right now? ”

    Eijirou shrugs as he fiddles with his own laptop for a second. “You sure are taking this class seriously, Bakugou.”

    “I take everything seriously.”

    “I can tell. You’re super intense! It’s manly!”

    “Why the fuck are you so obsessed with manliness. ”

    The redhead’s smile widens like a shark’s. “I think it’s just super cool! And I don’t see it as a gendered thing or anything, but more like this code of honor where you’re virtuous and courageous and you’re the best person you can be!” He thumps a fist over his heart and nods solemnly. “Manliness comes from the heart, not the appearances or anything shallow like that!”

    “Okay, weirdo, ” Katsuki grunts as he returns his attention to the website. Oh hey, the dude apparently wrote one of the most popular folk poems of the modern day--

    “ Ugh, Izuku respond! ” Ochako cries, exasperated, as she flops across the wooden library table like a puppet off its strings. She kicks her legs under the table and one of her kicks hits one of Katsuki’s legs and that’s it, he’s absconding from this shitty group.

    But not before a lightbulb goes off over his head. “Deku?”

    Ochako looks up with a frown. “Who’s Deku?”

    “That nerd.”

    “What nerd?”

    “The one who you’re trying to fucking text, idiot,” Katsuki hisses. It’s loud enough where some students nearby turn their heads at the source.

    Eijirou laughs again, but it sounds shakier for some reason. It’s not too big of a difference, but Katsuki can distinguish between “manly Eijirou laugh” and “nervous Eijirou laugh” pretty well now, and he has no idea if that’s because they’re becoming friends(?) or because he’s just so fucking tired of Eijirou’s laughter. “You call Midoriya ‘Deku?’ ”

    Hell yeah he does, and he’s not stopping anytime soon, even if Izuku’s got a similarly frustrating nickname in return. “Kacchan” might even be worse, now that Katsuki’s actually put some thought into it. It’s not a blatant insult, it’s just fucking shameful. He feels like he’s fucking five when Izuku calls him that.

    “Wait, you know Izuku?” Ochako asks, gaze transfixed on Katsuki at fucking last, like she hasn’t just wasted a whole hour away on her phone texting her friend that won’t text her back. She then gasps so loud, every head in the library turns. “ Oh my God, you’re his new roommate!”

    “Uh-huh,” Katsuki responds as his eyes trail back onto the website on his screen. He’s decided he doesn’t want to look at Ochako’s round face anymore. It’s not worth his time.

    “He was so angry over you,” she says with a giggle. “He came over to my dorm all pissed-off and stompy and he went ‘my new roommate’s such a jerk!’ and wouldn’t leave my room for three whole days.”

    “Yeah, I fucking know, and it was the most goddamn blissful three days of my life.”

    Ochako gives the blond a pretty eye roll. “Don’t go breaking his heart, Bakugou-kun. He’s sensitive--”

    “ Anyway, ” Eijirou interjects, face red and... does that guy who preaches about manliness and strength look stressed? “Uraraka, why don’t we get started and stuff?”

    The girl glances at the redhead before something clicks in her expression and she nods quickly. “Right! Okay, Bakugou-kun! We’re going to work now!”

    “Fucking finally, ” Katsuki exclaims in what he hopes sounds vaguely like relief. He’s not going to do this entire fucking project himself. He’s a little curious on why Eijirou got so dismissive over Izuku’s heart breaking or whatever the fuck Ochako said, but he instantly concludes that he doesn’t care enough to pressure. They’re not even his friends; they’re just desperate classmates who can’t do a group research project to save their skins.

Deku

---

Hi, Kacchan! (ヾﾉ･ω･`)
Just wondering, are you out buying groceries?
We’re running low on food
And you’re still not back yet.

---

---

Call me Kacchan again and I’ll break your face
Your friends are stupid as all hell
I’m paired with them for a group project and they don’t do SHIT
So that’s why I’m late

---

---

Which friends?
Don’t call my friends stupid! ꉂ `o´ )

---

---

Uh
Fuck I already forgot their names

---

---

Not surprised, lol.

---

---

Girl with brown hair and pink cheeks
Guy with red hair and spiky teeth

---

Deku
I know you read this message so fuck you for leaving me on read
Well anyway
I’ll buy groceries rn since I’m already out
What do we need

---

---

Oh sorry Kacchan!
I saw your text but then I guess I got distracted with my work
Whoops! (ー_ーゞ
I’ll send you a picture of the list
[ IMAGE SENT ]

---

---

Cool thanks

---

---

Yep! (੭ ᐕ)੭*⁾⁾

---

---

Also
Round face was being all fussy about you not texting her back
Were you just ignoring her or something
Or were you so focused on your shit that you just didn’t check your phone

---

---

Probably the latter, lol.
I wasn’t even aware she was texting me.
(/・0・)

---

---

Okay well NEXT TIME
WHEN ROUND FACE TEXTS YOU SHIT
RESPOND
BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T WORK WHEN SHE’S EXPECTING A REPLY
AND IT DRIVES ME NUTS

---

---

Okay, okay!
I’ll keep my eye out! (҂⌣̀_⌣́)
Sorry maybe that kaomoji isn’t totally representative of my message.
【•】_【•】
How’s this one?

---

---

What the fuck

---

Chapter Text

So Katsuki’s got Izuku’s schedule down pat after two months of living with him. And he’s got it down pat because Izuku doesn’t do shit. He’s clearly no social butterfly, because apparently he never does anything outside of going to classes and lounging in the dorm. Sometimes he visits his friends, but he never stays over unless he’s super emotional or whatever, and that’s only happened once since Katsuki’s move-in.

    Katsuki can almost always expect Izuku chilling on his bed or doing his work at his desk or something like that whenever he returns from classes. Izuku doesn’t have very late classes; it seems that he prefers to get that shit done with earlier in the day. Katsuki respects that.

    And whenever Izuku isn’t home when Katsuki arrives, Katsuki gives him about an hour or two. Because in about an hour or two, he’s bound to be back. He always comes back.

    And also, what the fuck, is Katsuki actually becoming friends with Izuku?

    The thought scares Katsuki, but not in the dramatic way where he’s like, absolutely terrified of friendship. Fuck no, he’s no pussy. He has friends and he’s not against friendship as a whole.

    Katsuki’s scared of it because why the fuck would he voluntarily become friends with Izuku? They have nothing in common. With Shouto, at least Katsuki can find solace in the fact that both of them are dicks who are slow to catch their mistakes. And with Tenya, well, Tenya pulled their entire relationship. Katsuki doesn’t get any credit for that one.

    Izuku and Katsuki, however, are on no-man’s territory. Izuku’s favorite thing is his stupid All Might anime and Katsuki’s never watched it (and never plans to, because that looks like nerdy shit). Katsuki likes fighting video games like Street Fighter and Izuku’s a total JRPG geek. Izuku’s a night owl and Katsuki’s an early bird, and Katsuki’s the best goddamn chef he knows and Izuku can barely fry an egg.

    They don’t even text in the same way. Izuku uses those ridiculous kaomojis like they somehow enhance his already-enthusiastic messages. What the fuck is up with that. He’s so fucking dumb.

    Maybe the only thing they have in common is their shared nicknames for each other. Deku and Kacchan. That’s the only thing that’s keeping them on the same level. It’s a stupid thing to bond over, but Katsuki finds himself warming up to the “Kacchan” nickname even if it’s the most childish-sounding name he’s ever owned. And Izuku doesn’t seem to mind “Deku” as much either, even if it’s straight-up a defamation to his person.

    But other than that? Nothing. Katsuki can’t think of a single thing that they share aside from that little feature.

    “Hey Deku,” he says one night. It’s nearing ten at night. Katsuki’s feeling a little drowsy, because he’s always used to sleeping at an early hour. It’s what keeps his skin clear despite all the yelling and the cursing. He doesn’t even process that he’s called out Izuku’s nickname multiple times to get Izuku’s attention.

    After like the fifth “Deku”, Izuku looks up from his phone. “What’s up, Kacchan?”

    He looks normal. Izuku looks like the most normal guy who’s ever existed on this earth. He’s always looked normal; every single feature is almost heart-wrenchingly plain. And he doesn’t even try spicing up his looks or anything. His wardrobe consists of the most basic, if not oversized, clothing, and he constantly wears those fashion-disaster red shoes like he’ll die if he doesn’t.

    But Katsuki surprisingly doesn’t mind that anymore. He used to be so vehemently against Izuku’s averageness, because Katsuki is anything but average, but it’s kind of charming now, like his own little quirk. Izuku is average and Katsuki thinks that’s cool of him to embrace that.

    “Are we friends?” he murmurs, the dim lighting of the dorm lulling him to sleep. He’s almost dropped his own phone on his face like ten times now before snapping back awake. He should really just pass out for the night.

    Izuku is quiet for a minute. “Oi nerd, I asked you a question.”

    “I think so,” his roommate finally replies. And when Katsuki peels open his eyes again, Izuku is smiling kindly at him. It looks natural on his freckled complexion, like it belongs there.

    “Really?”

    “Why not?”

    Yeah, why not. Katsuki’s not against being friends with Izuku. It’s definitely going to be uncharted territory, being friends with some guy who shares absolutely none of his interests, but he doesn’t think it’ll be that bad.

    “You’re still a lame-ass nerd,” Katsuki sighs, rolling onto his stomach as he groggily faces the wall, eyes closing a final time that night.

    “G’night, Kacchan,” Izuku says with the sweetest voice Katsuki’s ever heard, and it sounds like a beautiful lullaby against the room's ambient hum. “You’re still a big jerk.”

Oh yeah, Katsuki, Eijirou and Ochako pass that stupid fucking project with flying colors, no thanks to them. It was practically all Katsuki’s work at the end of the day, even if yeah, okay, maybe they provided some sources that maybe Katsuki implemented into the final product.

    But most of the work was still Katsuki’s. He’s the MVP here and he’s never going to let those two idiots live it down.

    “Thanks for teaming with us, man!” Eijirou says with a big grin that could probably eat the entirety of a small town. His teeth are so godforsaken sharp, like daggers. Why the fuck is that a thing? At all? “If it weren’t for you, Uraraka and I would’ve definitely failed.”

    “Yeah, I know, ” Katsuki gripes. “You two are fuckin’ useless. ”

    Ochako smiles regardless of the jab at her character. “You wanna join us for drinks? We’re celebrating our not-failure!”

    Christ, are they really that stupid or do they simply not give a fuck? They’re Izuku’s friends, so they can’t be absolutely brainless. Izuku himself rivals Katsuki with his academia so why would he hang out with complete blockheads?

    Anyway, Katsuki agrees because it’s thanks to him they have a not-failure on their project. “You guys old enough to drink?”

    “Almost,” Eijirou says shortly.

    “Almost,” Ochako parrots anxiously.

    Katsuki glares, unimpressed. “Birthdays. Now.”

    “October and December--” Eijirou points at himself and then juts a thumb at Ochako respectively-- “--but like, we look twenty! And nobody cares when we order beer so it’s fine. ”

    “You guys use fake IDs?” Katsuki asks as he arches his eyebrow. If he’ll be honest, he kind of wants to get drunk, because he hasn’t had a drop of alcohol in fucking months and he desperately needs to unwind. But he’s not getting in trouble with two losers just because they're not of age yet.

    Ochako nods aggressively. “Yep!” Her brown bob bounces as she moves her head. It really does look like some kind of mochi. “So are we getting drinks or not?”

    Yeah, they’re getting drinks. And Katsuki ends up so wasted, he’s practically blacked out in front of his and Izuku’s dorm room door. He can barely stand. Shit, how much did he drink? All he can remember is Ochako ordering round after round after round, drinking all the alcohol like she’s a fucking dying man in the middle of the fucking desert, and Eijirou yelling “one more!” every single fucking time like holy fuck how do they even do it. Katsuki isn’t even a lightweight and he’s pretty sure his brain is giving up on him.

    Katsuki is never going out with Izuku’s friends ever again. They might think he’s one of them now, but he is not. Even he can’t handle the absolute fuckery that was. Izuku should get new friends. For his own safety.

    He knocks on the door like twenty bajillion times before Izuku opens up and Katsukis weight shifts to the side. He’s leaning against the frame because he was leaning on the door before that was taken from him. “Kacchan?”

    “I ffffucking hate your friends,” Katsuki slurs, pointing angrily at his roommate.

    “You reek of booze! Did Uraraka-san drag you out to drink?” Izuku says, face contorting at Katsuki before supporting his roommate up from under the arms. “Okay, well, let’s go.”

    “Go where?” asks Katsuki in this faraway voice that doesn’t even sound like his own. Izuku is soft, with smooth skin and fluffy hair. Unconsciously, he puts his face in his locks and it smells like mint and honeydew. It’s a weird mix, but it’s nice. Kinda reminds Katsuki of summer in a grass field or something poetic like that.

    Izuku laughs from beside him. “Your bed, duh. You need to sleep this off.”

    “Don’t wanna sleep,” Katsuki quietly argues, but he doesn’t fight back when Izuku gently places him on his own mattress. Katsuki peeks at his roommate’s bed and there’s a box of pizza there, but only two slices were taken.

    He points at it. “Pizza?”

    “Oh! Yeah, I ordered one since I didn’t feel like cooking,” Izuku says sheepishly, scrambling over and closing the lid. “Do you want the rest?”

    “I fink ‘m gonna throw up.”

    “Then I’ll take that as a no.”

    Katsuki watches as Izuku walks out of his line of sight to place the pizza in the fridge. Fuck, his head’s still killing him. He thinks he might actually hurl, hurl out all that shit in his body and then die.

    “Your friends are fuckin’ insane, ” Katsuki mutters, flipping onto his back as he blinks at the ceiling. He’s trying to blink all the stars out of his eyes, because he can’t see shit without dizzying out. “How the fff fuck do you deal with ‘em.”

    Izuku returns to his bed with a lighthearted shrug. “I don’t go drinking with them. I just turned twenty like, a month and a half ago.”

    Well duh. He baked the fucker cookies. “I baked you cookies, fucker,” he decides to say out loud for literally no fucking reason. He doesn’t have control over his own mouth anymore. From here on out, everything’s fair game.

    “Yeah, I know,” Izuku says with a knowing smile, like he’s waiting for Katsuki to say something he’s not aware of yet.

    “I baked youuuu... cookies. ”

    “Yeah.”

    “ Cookies. ”

    Izuku’s smile grows wider. “Yeah Kacchan, you baked me cookies for my twentieth birthday even though I thought you hated my guts.”

    “I did,” Katsuki garbles ineffectively with a pointer finger raised, like he’s trying to make a point. He then realizes he has nothing else to say, so he drops the finger and the sentence altogether.

    He sets his eyes on Izuku’s. They’re calming and friendly and pre-- no, they’re average. That’s all they are. Average.

    They’re a nice average, though. Katsuki doesn’t feel intimidated by Izuku’s overall blah-ness, but he especially likes looking at his eyes. They’re truthful and honest. They basically say whatever’s on Izuku’s mind.

    And they’re looking at him right now with amusement, probably because his crazy, feral roommate’s being stupid drunk and lowkey vulnerable.

    “What,” Katsuki blurts.

    “You look so ridiculous,” responds Izuku with a giggle. It causes Katsuki’s heart to wobble a bit, though he’s convinced it’s because of the literal poison he’s injected into his veins just an hour prior. Drinking with Eijirou and Ochako was the worst decision Katsuki has made in his entire fucking life. And yes, that even includes getting booted from his old dorm and moving to an entirely new one in a span of like, one week.

    Oh yeah, Eijirou and Ochako. “Hey, you’re not really friends with those idiots, yeah?”

    Izuku blinks as he tilts his head. “Idiots?”

    “Round Face and what’s-his-name. Red Guy. Shark Man. Shitty Hair. They’re fuckin’ stupid. ”

    “They’re not stupid,” retorts Izuku after a couple of tense silence seconds. “They’re just... um...”

    “Stupid.”

    “Intellectually withholding.”

    “So... stupid.”

    “They just don’t work that hard in college, I guess,” Izuku clarifies with another shrug. “It’s not like they’re dumb or anything. They just like to take it easy a lot.”

    “And drink like the fffffucking world is ending,” Katsuki adds, which elicits another giggle from his freckled roommate.

    Izuku shuffles around until he’s standing above Katsuki. “If you’re not going to sleep, how about you take a shower?”

    This is déjà vu, isn’t it? Katsuki squints at the face before him. From the rim light, Izuku kind of looks like an angel. The blandest fuckin’ angel in the history of all angels, Katsuki decides affirmatively as he shakes his head. “Tired.”

    “Don’t make me carry you.”

    “Don’t think you can. ”

    “I can carry you.”

    “I wanna see you tryyYY--” He’s suddenly hoisted by the waist, just like he lifted Izuku that one time. Izuku’s arms are wrapped around Katsuki’s abdomen like he does this shit every fuckin’ day, and Katsuki’s way too out of it to snap his roommate’s neck for lifting him like a sack of potatoes.

    Also, what the fuck? Izuku can lift? Sure, he may have some muscle, but Katsuki can lift 200. Let him remind everyone one more time, he can lift 200. Izuku barely looks like he can lift 100 on a good day.

    “Hold on, okay?” Izuku says in that stupid Izuku way.

    Katsuki would throw a fit like he always does, but he’s finally realizing just how wasted he really is. Katsuki passes out the moment Izuku reaches the shower. He falls asleep in the bathtub.

Deku

---

WHY THE FUCK DID I WAKE UP IN THE BATHTUB
HEY DEKU
THE FUCK
AND WHY DOES MY HEAD HURT SO MUCH
WHAT DID YOU DO

---

---

I didn’t do anything!

---

---

DON’T FUCK WITH ME
DID YOU DRUG ME???

---

---

...Do you not remember ANYTHING from last night?
、ヽ｀(~д~*)、ヽ｀
How dare you, Kacchan
We had a heart-to-heart talk.

---

---

Somehow I VERY HIGHLY doubt that
I would NEVER have a heart to heart with you
WHAT HAPPENED

---

---

Okay maybe I was exaggerating a little.（￣ー￣)ゞ
You got super drunk with my friends
I can’t believe you don’t remember that.
You made it a huge deal and everything. ┐(´ｰ｀)┌

---

---

Oh

---

---

Jeez, you thought I drugged you?
That’s mean, Kacchan. I would never do that.
|Д´)ﾉ

---

---

Wait so why the fuck did I wake up in the fuckin bathtub

---

---

I carried you there!
But you fell asleep before you could shower.

---

---

Oh

---

---

You can have the rest of the pizza in the fridge!
Maybe it’ll help with your hangover. (づ￣ ³￣)づ
I don’t know what’s good for hangovers
I’ve never been hungover before
But maybe pizza will work? (ﾉ≧ڡ≦)
╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

---

---

You didn’t eat any of it?
What’d you have for breakfast

---

---

Uhhhhhhhhhh
Nothing...?

---

---

The FUCK
Deku you better be eating breakfasts
Or I will kick your ass

---

---

Yes sir!!!
(＞ロ＜)ゝ

---

Katsuki feels like a goddamn zombie. He’s been crawling through his classes, just barely holding on, because his head feels like a fucking wrecking ball. Chuck it at a brick wall and the wall will definitely come crashing down, that’s how heavy his skull’s feeling.

    He will never talk with Eijirou and Ochako ever again. He will never, ever, ever get into a group project with them from here on out; he won’t even look at them or hell, even acknowledge them. He will never--

    “Bakugou!”

    Fucking Christ. “What?!” Katsuki bellows as Eijirou catches up to his right. “Haven’t you and Round Face done enough damage?!”

    The two are walking on the campus to their next class. Katsuki has no clue what Eijirou’s major is nor what classes he takes. He doesn’t want to know. He doesn’t want to fucking talk to Eijirou. He’s had enough of his manly tirades and his ruby hair and his disgustingly simple smiles. Can’t Katsuki be fucking aggrivated in peace?

    Eijirou smiles cluelessly. It’s what he does best, apparently, because there’s absolutely no meaningful and intelligent thoughts in that hollow brain of his. “What’re you talking about, man?”

    “Don’t ‘man’ me, bastard. My head is murdering me and it’s all thanks to last night when you and Round Face decided to drink an ocean’s amount of beer.”

    “Oh, sorry dude!” Eijirou genuinely looks sympathetic, but Katsuki realizes that he hates that look on him, too. “Yeah, Uraraka can be hard to keep up when she starts drinking. It took me months to get accustomed to her stamina.”

    “It’s like she’s a fucking alcoholic.”

    “She’s not! She just, well, likes to drink.”

    “Alcoholic.”

    Eijirou scoffs, but another one of those dumb smiles appear on his face again. “Anyway, um, can I talk to you about something?” He fidgets with the strap of his bag. Suddenly, his red eyes aren’t exactly focused on Katsuki anymore, but more focused on the ground beneath them.

    “No,” Katsuki responds immediately. “I’m not gonna do stupid friend shit with you.”

    “We’re not friends?” Eijirou asks with a bolt up of his head, eyes watery and big and honestly really fucking disgusting, like he’s puppy-dog-eyes-ing Katsuki.

    Katsuki takes a second to grimace at Eijirou’s expression before heaving a sigh. “What do you want to tell me about.”

    And that stupid toothy grin is back on Eijirou’s face, like none of that pleading eyes shit even happened. “Thanks, man! I knew I could count on you!”

    “Just say the shit! ”

    “Right!” Eijirou nods before playing with the strap again. “Uh, so you know how I’m friends with your roommate, right?”

    Katsuki hums. “Deku?”

    “ Midoriya, but yeah. We’ve known each other for a while, so...”

    “So what. ”

    “Um...”

    “Oh my God, Shitty Hair. Where’s that stupid fuckin’ manliness you keep obsessing over. Just say it.”

    “He confessed to me in like, late June,” he finally blurts, face as crimson as his hair. “And I rejected him.”

    Oh yeah, Katsuki faintly remembers that time. The pasta incident, when Izuku came back from four days of ignoring Katsuki, crash-landed onto his bed with the puffiest face in the world, stuffed himself with pasta, and silently cried like a little kid holding a grudge. He honestly kind of forgot about that day, because ever since, Izuku hasn’t brought up that rejection at all.

    It’s almost like he, himself, forgot about it. Izuku’s just been plain ol’ Izuku for the following like, three months.

    “I know,” Katsuki responds with a crease of his forehead.

    “Oh, y-you do?” Eijirou stutters before lightly knocking his head with his fist. “Wait, of course you know! You’re his roommate! You probably saw the aftermath and stuff -- I’m so stupid!”

    “Yeah, you are, about everything, ” says Katsuki with a huff.

    “Well, I kind of just wanted to let you know since you live with him,” says Eijirou, sighing embarrassedly. “Just so things, y’know, don’t get awkward if you ever bring me up. And I know you tend to say what’s on your mind, so I guess this is to save you from like, prying the truth from his mouth or... y’know.”

    “We don’t talk about you.” It sounds rude, but it’s the truth. Katsuki can’t remember the last time Izuku even said Eijirou’s name at all. Probably never. Maybe the rejection still fucked with him regularly.

    Eijirou gulps. “Oh, um, cool then.”

    “Why’d you turn him down?” Oh God, is Katsuki asking? Does he actually give a shit? That’s new. Katsuki’s leveling up. In just a couple short months of “being nice” he may even evolve into someone entirely different. That’s so fucking hilarious to Katsuki, he fights back a smirk on his lips.

The redhead doesn’t seem to notice it, because he just plows on with the conversation. “W-Well, it’s not like I, um, don’t like Midoriya. He’s awesome! He’s nice and funny, and he’s really smart too. And he and I both like All Might, so we talk about it a lot together. And he’s always there to lend me a shoulder when I’m sad or when I’m feeling particularly unmanly, and... I dunno. He’s like, the definition of manliness in my head!”

“Shit dude, you should just fuckin’ marry him,” Katsuki replies with the dryest tone he’s ever spoken with. The way Eijirou described Izuku sounded like a head-over-heels crusher who just couldn’t get enough of their love interest. It’s disgusting. Why is Katsuki still here again?

“I mean, that’s funny,” Eijirou mentions with a weak laugh, “but um, I’m not gay. So. That’s why.”

“Yeah?”

“Yep.”

“Wait, Deku’s gay?” It takes Katsuki several long moments for him to process this new information. Izuku likes guys. More importantly, he likes a fucking himbo with more teeth than braincells.

Eijirou’s eyes widen, panic setting in. “ Oh fuck! Uh-- no, he’s-- uh--”

“Congrats idiot, you just outed your friend to some dude you barely know.”

“Shit! I knew I shouldn’t have said anything!” Eijirou whines, grabbing fists of his hair and yanking hard. Like, he’s really yanking, to the point where Katsuki wonders if he should stop him. “Dude, don’t say anything, okay? Fuck, I fucked everything up!”

It’s kind of refreshing to hear this PG nice guy swear up a storm. So it seems he feels quite deeply about things, too. Glad Katsuki isn’t alone in that.

And besides, Katsuki couldn’t give two shits on Izuku’s sexuality. Katsuki already knew years ago that he’s gay himself. So why would he pick on Izuku being gay if he can just pick on Izuku’s other pickable traits, like his stupid bedhead in the morning and his inability to sleep at a proper hour?

“I guess I just felt comfortable confiding in you,” Eijirou continues. “You’re kinda hard to talk to, but I know you care about things, and also you’re connected to Midoriya somehow, so I thought maybe... maybe it would be a good idea for you to know. But I screwed it all up! Don’t tell anyone! And especially don’t tell your roommate I outed him!”

“Relax,” Katsuki grumbles. “Lips are sealed.” He wouldn’t even have anyone to tell (aside from Izuku), even if he wanted to (which he doesn’t). Shouto’s already Izuku’s friend, and Tenya probably doesn’t even know Izuku so what purpose would that serve?

Eijirou nods violently. “Thank you so much, man! I know you’re a man of honor! I’ll entrust you with this secret!”

Katsuki nearly loses it as “man of honor”. That’s fucking hysterical. He threatens Shouto’s life every ten hours.

But he doesn’t say that. Instead he just nods back and says “whatever.”

October is Katsuki’s favorite month. (Shut up, he’s allowed to have a favorite month. People have favorite seasons so why would months be any different? Shut up.) Reasons why are long, but here are three main points that Katsuki feels most strongly about:

1. The weather isn’t too hot nor too cold, which thank fuck honestly, because Katsuki won’t be dying from heatstroke, but at the same time his own body heat makes the chilly weather bearable. Also, Katsuki gets to wear actually fashionable clothes in the fall (and spring, but autumn automatically beats spring because of the leaves and shit).
2. His half-birthday is during this month, and he knows that sounds immature as hell, like who even cares about half-birthdays anymore, but listen. Listen. He does not care about that shitty opinion.
3. October’s the start of the new semester, which means HELL YEAH, HE DOESN’T HAVE TO TAKE MODERN LIT ANYMORE AND DEAL WITH THOSE TWO FUCKERS.

So yeah, Katsuki loves October.

    Apparently Izuku doesn’t, because his schedule is all fucked up now, according to him. He didn’t use that exact wording, but Katsuki got the drift when he saw Izuku grinding his teeth over his computer and muttering quietly about how he’s going to have to come back later and get up earlier and how Thursdays are going to be awful now.

    That’s rough. Oh well -- none of that matters to Katsuki, because Katsuki still has a relatively intact schedule and this time he can go to classes while also looking sick as fuck.

    At least, that’s what he thought at first.

    Look, October is Katsuki’s favorite month. So even if shit went down and his life turned upside the head, he’d still be fine. October’s got this big fat grip on his optimism. It’s so weird. But also cool, because that means he can actually enjoy things for once. Who would’ve thought that would even be possible for Bakugou Katsuki?

    But this October is different. It’s not bad -- Katsuki doesn’t feel like the entire month’s gone sour or anything -- but it’s hollow. It feels empty. He should be living it up, but he ends up feeling a lot downer than his usual Octobers.

    And then the realization dawns on him. It’s because of that stupid fucking nerd.

    Katsuki’s gotten accustomed to Izuku’s presence. He had to, or else they wouldn’t even remotely function as roommates. He used to have Izuku’s schedule all figured out, because if he’ll be honest it was a really standard one. Izuku didn’t go out of his way to change much, after all.

    With the new October and the shifting of classes, Izuku’s no longer predictable at all. Some days he has super early classes where he has to wake up at six, and other days he won’t be home until ten at night. At first Katsuki thought he could just figure it out by observing when Izuku leaves and when he comes home and then just apply it to the rest of the month, but it’s just... weird now. It doesn’t feel stable. Katsuki will oftentimes be in his dorm for hours with nothing better to do, simply waiting for Izuku to return so he can rant to him about some shitty extra who got on Katsuki’s nerves that day.

    And tonight, Katsuki is feeling exceptionally bored. 

    No, it’s not because he’s staring at Izuku’s boring wall. He’s used to that now. It’s still boring, but it’s a bearable kind of boring.

    He’s bored because it’s near fucking twelve in the dead of night and Izuku still isn’t back. Katsuki knows that Izuku has one late-night class that causes him to return late (that’s the ends-at-ten-PM class), but it’s ten to midnight and he’s still not back. Dammit, he has a story to tell about the barista at the nearby coffee shop and Izuku isn’t on the receiving end of that ramble. He’s staying up past his normal bedtime for Izuku’s return, for fuck’s sake.

    Katsuki groans, very loudly (because he knows he can; Izuku isn’t here to silently judge him), before whipping out his phone and texting the nerd.

Deku

---

Hey
Where the hell are you

---

    Ten minutes pass and he doesn’t get a response. Ten minutes passed, meaning that it’s officially midnight, and there’s no reply from Izuku.

    That’s strange. Izuku usually texts back immediately, or at least reads the text if he’s in the middle of something. Katsuki never had to wait ten whole grueling minutes for an Izuku text before. It’s always been in the span of about five minutes, tied up nicely with those absurd kaomojis.

    Wait, did Katsuki hurt Izuku lately? That’s the only reason why Izuku wouldn’t come back, at least that Katsuki’s aware of. He tries racking his brain for things he might’ve said to insult his roommate, but nothing out of the ordinary comes to mind. He’s a rough-around-the-edges kind of guy, so he talks to Izuku the same way he’d talk to someone like his mom. Nothing’s changed there.

    Doesn’t hurt to check, though.

---

Was it something I said
This sounds like we had a fight
Which I don’t think we did
Oi
Answer me nerd
Deku
DEKUUUUU

---

    Five more minutes pass and there’s still nothing.

    “What the fuck! ” Katsuki exclaims, tossing his phone in the air and watching it hit the comforter with a poompf .

    So maybe Katsuki isn’t used to people ignoring him. He’s so bombastically loud, he always draws in everyone’s attention, whether they like it or not. And obviously, inevitably, he’d feel that way about Izuku too, because Izuku fucking lives with him. 

    He stands up and decides to clean the dorm to get his mind off of this nonsense. He picks up the broom and duster and is about to start at his corner when his phone screen lights up.

Fuck the cleaning, Katsuki nearly leaps onto his bed to check the text.

Icy Hot

---

Bakugou, did you know that there was a live-action Cars movie in the works about a decade ago, and that Iida tried out for one of the children-car roles?

---

    Fuck Shouto. Fuck that guy so fucking much. He hates him to his core. His bones feel the hatred. He’ll fucking end that man someday, somehow, somewhere, somewhy... whatever. Point is, Katsuki’s fucking pissed.

---

I do not give a SHIT about that
Fuck you
And fuck your stupid cars shit
Hated that franchise and I hate you times infinity

---

---

Well, you’re being pissier than usual.
What happened?

---

---

Nothing
I just hate you

---

---

I know that, but this is extreme levels of Bakuanger.
Talk to me.
I bet you’re positively fuming right now.

---

---

Do you fucking know where Deku is

---

---

Midoriya?

---

---

YES oh my god fucking HELL

---

---

Nope.
I haven’t seen him recently.
He says he’s been swamped with classes.
Poor guy. You should give him some of your exclusive Bakuacademichelp.

---

---

This ain’t a fuckin JOKE
That nerd still isn’t back yet
He’s never been out this late
Is he with round face

---

---

Round face?
Oh, Uraraka?
Just checked with her and she said no.
Maybe he’s still working.

---

---

On WHAT

---

---

How would I know?

---

    Shouto’s completely useless, as Katsuki expected. He can’t get a single easy answer out of him. His phone pings again and he’s almost too frustrated to check.

---

Actually, he might be in the library.
He used to fall asleep there when he overworked himself during our first year.
I’d have to get him sometimes.
But I’m watching a movie with Iida right now so...
Why don’t you check?

---

    That sure would explain why Izuku isn’t responding to any of Katsuki’s messages, and would explain why he didn’t tell Katsuki previously that he’d be out for so long, or even hint towards anger that Katsuki was being a little bitch again.

    Fine, perhaps Shouto isn’t completely useless. Katsuki texts back a half-hearted “thank you” before putting on his overcoat and making his way to the library.

True to Shouto’s word, Katsuki finds Izuku in the 24/7 hour library, one cheek against the wooden table, as his hands fail to hold up a thick book about political science. His laptop is open, but it’s in sleep mode, just like Izuku himself. He’s sleeping like a baby, completely undisturbed, as a little bit of drool appears at the corner of his mouth.

    It looks like his entire school bag exploded on the table. Books and notes and pencils and pens are everywhere. Did he fucking set up a station here or what?

    Katsuki resists the urge to roll his eyes. The guy’s got no self-preservation whatsoever. He’s so unguarded; if Katsuki were actually as evil as he presents himself, Izuku could be in some serious danger right now. The library is mostly empty with the exception of a couple students a good distance away, eyes glued to their screens with jumbo coffees at their wake.

    The blond pokes at Izuku’s cheek. It’s squishy, like a gummy. “Deku, get up.”

    Izuku stirs, but he doesn’t wake up. He simply mumbles something unintelligible as he continues to nap.

    In no universe is a shitty nerd ignoring Katsuki any more than he already has, so he pulls on that same cheek so hard, he pinches. “ Wake up, Deku,” he whispers harshly, tugging a couple more times for good measure.

    This time he does, raising his head ever so slightly and tilting his face up to see Katsuki’s very own. Izuku’s eyes squint at the light, making his green irises kinda look like emeralds. If they weren’t so damn ordinary, Katsuki might’ve thought they were pretty for a second.

    “Kacchan?” he whimpers as he blinks a couple times. “What’re you doing here?”

    “Taking you home, idiot,” Katsuki responds with another pull at Izuku’s cheek, who’s lucid enough now to whine at the gesture. “Do you fucking know what time it is?”

    “No?”

    “It’s almost one in the fucking morning.”

    “Oh.” Izuku sits up and smooths out his hair before gasping, “wait, one in the morning?! ”

    The late-night librarian shushes him from her station and he sends an apologetic look her way. He then turns to Katsuki and his eyes are all big and shocked. Katsuki can really see the green now, and can even spot a couple gold specks in there. That’s weird. Maybe Katsuki’s slowly going mad because he should be asleep right now, too. “Kacchan, it’s almost one in the morning?! ”

    Katsuki pulls the guy up from his sweatshirt hoodie. Izuku bonelessly follows suit until he’s standing up. “Put your stuff away. We’re going back.”

    “Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?” Izuku asks as he practically throws all his materials back into his school bag. Clearly he doesn’t give a damn about organization, because he isn’t even bothering to put the writing utensils back in his pencil case.

    “Did you think I was just, I don’t know, sitting here this entire time? I texted you like a million times and you didn’t give me a single damn response.”

    “Really?” Izuku grabs his phone and checks his texts. “Oh my God, you were so needy.”

    Katsuki feels his ears betray him. They’re hot, he can feel it. Fuck. “I was not needy. ”

    “I never thought you’d ever text ‘was it something I said’,” Izuku goes on to say with this dumb smile on his face. He looks sleepy as hell, eyes trying so hard to focus on his phone, but apparently he’s always awake enough to taunt Katsuki. It’s infuriating.

    “Shut the fuck your mouth,” Katsuki hisses as he jostles Izuku’s shoulder. “You’re being fucking embarrassing.”

    “ You wrote that, though.”

    “I said shut up.”

    “You care. ”

    “I do not give a fucking shit about you, shitty-ass nerd, and don’t you ever fucking forget that. Drill that into your fucking brain and never fucking say something so fucking wrong like that ever fucking again.”

    Izuku’s smile is really wide now as he slings the two bag straps over his shoulders. “I dunno... I didn’t think you’d ever fetch me in the library, but here we are.”

    That much is true. If this were back when Katsuki and Izuku were giving each other the cold shoulder, he probably would’ve blown the whole thing off. Probably would’ve said good riddance. Might’ve even relaxed a little, knowing that that nerd would be out of his sight for a night.

    But they don’t have that kind of reluctance anymore. It’s October, not June, and Katsuki won’t admit it out loud, but he kinda likes having his roommate around. Makes life a little less lonely, at least.

    “Whatever.” Katsuki grits his teeth before angrily noogie-ing Izuku’s already-messy hair. “Next time, sleep in your actual damn bed if you’re tired.”

 Icy Hot

---

Just wanted to pop in and tell you that Iida kissed me yesterday.
I am on cloud nine.
What’s up with you?

---

---

Went to the stupid fucking library to pick up that stupid fucking nerd
At one in the fucking morning

---

---

Yeowch.
Yeah, I probably should have warned you about that.
Midoriya takes his education really seriously.

---

---

Yeah I fucking KNOW NOW
I LIVE WITH HIM

---

---

Oh yeah.

---

---

Anyway fucking congrats or whatever the fuck you wanted me to say about your kiss
What did it feel like kissing that guy
I bet it’s like kissing a robot

---

---

Don’t slander him like this.
It was nice.

---

---

Whatever
Honestly I don’t fucking care
But I’m happy for you I guess
At least this swap wasn’t completely fucking useless

---

---

Shouldn’t Midoriya be a reason why this wasn’t useless?
He’s much nicer than Iida.
Iida is nice, but Midoriya is like a maxed out nice-ness meter.

---

---

He’s a little shit

---

---

I know that’s Bakucode for “friend.”

---

---

STOP PUTTING BAKU IN FRONT OF STUPID FUCKING THINGS JUST BECAUSE THOSE THINGS RELATE TO ME
IT’S STUPID AS HELL

---

---

It’s funny.
I’m very humorous.

---

---

You are absolutely fucking NOT

---

Katsuki and Izuku don’t really see each other as frequently as they used to, and Katsuki’s just going to have to fucking take it.

    On certain days, Izuku’s out the door before Katsuki even wakes up. And on other certain days, Izuku doesn’t come back even after Katsuki’s too tired to stay awake for any longer. They have the weekends, but usually one day is just dedicated to Izuku sleeping the whole day away because he’s so stretched thin.

    Katsuki doesn’t fucking care about Izuku’s schedule, as long as he doesn’t fucking die. Which he knows is unlikely, but like, still. He used to not even think about it since Izuku never crossed any lines, he was always at the places Katsuki expected him to be, but now it’s not that easy and Katsuki worries sometimes okay it’s a normal thing to do when life is unpredictable.

    It kinda sucks also because Izuku was kind of a built-in therapist who didn’t talk back. So not really a therapist, but some guy who listens really well but doesn’t really challenge anything Katsuki says. Katsuki would go all “there was this bitch on the street earlier today and I wanted to fucking blow up his head” and Izuku would go all “that’s nice, Kacchan”, and Katsuki would suddenly feel a lot calmer. What the fuck. Now he doesn’t have that at all and it kinda sucks.

    And texting just isn’t the same. Katsuki can’t explain it, but he knows. And it fucking bothers him, but what the hell can he do? Force Izuku to change his schedule so it’s not so rigorous and polarizing and so he can actually be in the dorm when Katsuki is? Holy fuck what is happening right now.

    Does Katsuki want Izuku to be there with him? That’s absolutely wrong. Hell no. There’s no fucking way. NO FUCKING WAY.

    So they may be friends now. So what. That’s it. They’re friends now and that’s that. And friends. Like to hang out. With friends. That’s a thing friends do.

    Maybe Katsuki just isn’t used to the whole I-like-your-company thing. He’s never felt that way with Shouto; their friendship mostly feels like a chore to be honest. Katsuki isn’t going to just cut off their relationship or anything, he just doesn’t really care if Shouto hangs out with him or not. It’s a total love-hate situation with him for the most part, but he neither loves nor hates Shouto’s presence.

    And Tenya never hung out with Katsuki outside of their dorm, and they didn’t even really talk that much period. So Katsuki never missed him whenever he was gone.

    (He’s not even going to touch Eijirou or Ochako. Both of them can rot in hell. Yeah, he’s still not over the drunk incident.)

    But with Izuku, Katsuki... likes having him around. He likes talking to him, even if Izuku sometimes doesn’t respond with his full attention. He likes hearing Izuku complain when he dies in some lame JRPG he’s playing on his handheld. He likes seeing Izuku attempt (and likely fail) at making food at the stove, and he likes listening to Izuku talk on and on and on about that hero anime he treats like platinum. (Maybe the last one’s a bit of a reach, because Katsuki literally could not care less about that stupid anime. It’s basic as hell and the animation doesn’t even look that good.)

    Katsuki’s probably just so fucking antisocial, he has no clue what it’s like to really enjoy someone being there with him. He’s always felt better in solitude, but sometimes it’s nice to share that solitude with someone, even if that someone is a nerd with no discernable talents or strengths.

    Or maybe Katsuki’s going fucking bonkers.

Even though Katsuki isn’t taking modern lit anymore, he still bumps into those two idiots from time to time. And every time he does, he wants to turn right on his heel and sprint the other direction in fear that they’ll drag him out to their drinking outings--

    --Which is happening right now. What the hell, was he drugged? How the fuck did he get into this situation?

    He’s being held hostage by numbskulls with way too much alcohol tolerance. And this time, Eijirou is finally fucking legal, so apparently he, Ochako, Katsuki, and Shouto are going out to celebrate. (Izuku didn’t come because he wasn’t invited. Apparently, Eijirou still isn’t entirely comfortable after what happened in June. Anyway, even if they weren’t all awkward and shit, Izuku probably wouldn’t have joined anyway because he doesn’t like alcohol.)

    “Who the fuck invited this bastard?” Katsuki growls as he points an accusing finger at Shouto.

    “We’re friends,” Shouto responds, maddeningly nonchalant, as he sips on his first round.

    “All the worst people in one friend group, huh?” Katsuki grumbles angrily as he, too, sips on his first round. He gets an instant flashback to the drunk incident the moment his lips touch the beer and he’s wondering why the hell he’s even here still. Why can’t he just flip the table and flee the scene. What’s stopping him.

    Ochako downs her drink before giggling. “C’mon, Bakugou-kun, you love us!”

    “I hate you guys so fucking much, more like,” Katsuki corrects snappily.

    “Love! Looove!” Ochako squishes her cheeks together and then proceeds to squish Katsuki’s, and you know what? He really, really wants to flip this table right fucking now.

    And he’s really about to do it, before Eijirou steers the conversation away. “So, Bakugou, you never told us what you’re majoring in.”

    “Does it fucking matter?” Katsuki asks idly as he takes a bigger gulp from his glass. If he’s gonna get hammered again, he might as well get hammered with sharing as little details about himself as possible. He doesn’t want them thinking he’s chummy with them now. He still hates them with every fiber of his being.

    Eijirou laughs as he lifts up his own glass. “I guess not, but I like learning about other peoples’ majors. It’s like a whole other facet of someone’s personality! Like, this person’s majoring in econ? That’s cool! Super manly!”

    Katsuki rolls his eyes so hard, he’s almost a little scared his eyes will stay fucked up. Thankfully, they don’t.

    “Can we guess what you’re majoring in?” Ochako asks with a grin, refilling her glass from the shared pitcher. Holy fuck, she’s already on her second drink? If Katsuki didn’t have prior experience with Ochako’s insane stamina, he would’ve almost considered it commendable. Before waiting for a go-ahead, “judging by your personality, you’re totally not an art student.”

    “Am I supposed to shut up about this?” Shouto asks quietly. Out of all three idiots, Shouto’s the only one who actually knows.

    “Yeah, it makes it more fun!” Ochako replies cheerfully.

    Katsuki continues to chug. He’s given up on this shit.

    “Maybe he’s a business major?” asks Eijirou from Katsuki’s left. “You seem like a guy who’d be a good boss, actually. Kinda rude, but authoritative. And mean. Okay, you’d be a terrible boss.”

    “No no, he wouldn’t be able to do business meetings or negotiations or anything like that,” Ochako says with a wave of her hand. She drinks a damn near half of her second round before slamming her glass down. “He could just be an econ major! Doesn’t he look like someone who’s good with money?”

    “I am right here, ” Katsuki snarls as he finishes his first drink. He’s no lightweight, so he barely feels anything, but he knows shit’s gonna pick up and he’s gonna feel like ass all over again. He should just leave when he has the chance. Which is right now.

    Eijirou shakes his head. “You think someone like Bakugou would waste his life away looking at money? ”

    “The hell’s that supposed to mean?” grumbles Katsuki.

    “You’re way too aggressive for such a bland major, man.”

    “Is that... an insult?” Katsuki can’t even tell anymore. His aggression is literally a personality trait at this point. It’s a perpetual feeling that Katsuki can’t even shake off; it’s aided him at times and has also fucked him up too.

    “Nah, it’s just an observation,” affirms Eijirou with a shoulder pat. Katsuki really, really wants to grab his wrist and bend it backwards so he can make his escape.

    He’s not exactly sure what’s stopping him from leaving, actually. He could literally just stand up, say “whoops I think I left the stove on in my dorm”, and hightail it out of there. But then again, Izuku’s probably studying in that stupid 24/7 library, so Katsuki will just be all alone and lately that’s no better than getting plastered.

    So he decides what the hell, I deserve a drink, or maybe several, and stays.

    Apparently both Ochako and Eijirou can’t fuckin’ figure it out and have practically exhausted every single other major in their university. At last, Ochako, who is probably on her ninth or tenth glass at this point, reaches over and grabs Katsuki’s face. “What. Do. You. Major. In.”

    Katsuki’s pretty drunk now, since he’s on his seventh round himself. “Fuck off,” he blubbers as he smacks her hands away.

    “You gotta tell us, man!” Eijirou damn near wails as he shakes Katsuki’s shoulders rapidly. Tears are streaming from his face like he’s witnessed a tragedy. “You can’t keep us in the fuckin’ dark, man! We... We deserve to know!”

    Subconsciously, Katsuki’s going this is the guy Deku likes?, but he doesn’t say it out loud. Instead he blows in the redhead’s face and goes “like hh hell you deserve to know.”

    Shouto’s perfectly sober, having only drank half a glass. If they weren’t disaster college students, he’d be the DD, but the real reason why he only stuck to one round was because he apparently finds the taste of rough alcohol “abhorrent.” He’s so fucking pretentious and Katsuki hates him. “He’s a chem major,” the man says slowly, one of his cheeks propped up by his hand.

    “A what major?! ” Eijirou screeches like he’s never fucking heard of the word “chemistry” before in his life.

    “ Chem?! ” Ochako squeals from beside Shouto as she pounds her fist against the table. “This man is studying chemistry?! ”

    The two of them squawk and cry like fucking parakeets. Shouto sighs as he lifts his glass and inspects it with distaste. Katsuki’s got the biggest fucking headache, his stomach is getting real upset, and oh come on this is just round two of the drunk incident. Katsuki’s a fucking dumbass for hanging around, like this time will be any different from the last time.

    Suddenly, Katsuki hears a buzzing from his phone. He sloppily pulls it out of his pocket and hisses at the abrupt light. “Who is it?” Shouto asks as he leans forward, hoping to catch the contact name from the top, but Katsuki shoves Shouto’s forehead away before he can see anything.

Deku

---

Hey Kacchan, where’s the leftovers from yesterday? 
₍₍ ◝(・ω・)◟ ⁾⁾

---

    It’s Izuku, texting at nine at night with his iconic kaomojis. He’s blissfully unaware of Katsuki’s blatant suffering. He’s asking about leftovers. Like his roommate’s life isn’t on the fucking line right now.

---

Fridge

---

---

Well, no they’re not in the fridge
I already checked.
Unless you ate it all already? (×_×;）
So rude Kacchan, you couldn’t save me any?

---

    That guy’s being way too lax right now. Katsuki can barely even process what’s on his screen, let alone reply like a sober man. Should he just communicate in emojis? Is that the kind of person he’s become?

    Ochako glances over and suddenly her fingers are grabby-grabby for Katsuki’s phone. “Who’re you texting, Bakugou-kuuuun?”

    “None of your damn business,” Katsuki warbles, pressing his right cheek against the table as he looks at Izuku’s texts from an angle. He notices that Izuku’s typing again, probably because he’s seen Katsuki on the text convo without responding.

---

I can see that you read these, lol.
Are you busy right now?
∑(⌒◇⌒；)
Don’t let me disturb you!

---

    No! Izuku is not leaving him right now, when he’s fighting tooth and nail to stay conscious. If Izuku stops texting him, he’ll have to deal with three way more insufferable fuckers, and he doesn’t think he can do that right now.

---

Not workign

---

---

Oh, then what’re you doing?
And why won’t you tell me about the leftovers? (」｡≧□≦)」

---

---

How the fuvj am I supposed to knoe where yhe leftovers are
Im livign it up

---

---

Oh my god, are you drunk right now?
Kacchan!!!

---

---

Not drunk
I am very sober.

---

---

That’s called lying through your teeth, Kacchan. ( ´△｀)

---

---

Fucj you

---

    Just then, Ochako steals the phone from Katsuki’s hands and he lets out a very offended gasp. “Givit back!”

    “Stop ignoring us!” she retaliates before getting a good look at the screen and screaming her head off. Jesus, Izuku hangs out with maniacs. “ You’re texting Izuku?! ”

    “Midoriya?” Eijirou exclaims, lifting his own head off the table. He looked completely out of it until the nerd’s name was mentioned.

    “He-- He calls you Kacchan?! ” Katsuki is pretty sure Ochako just broke the sound barrier then.

    Shouto stifles down a laugh and Katsuki’s totally ready to punch him in the nuts. He’s raring to go. He’ll square up with him right now. He’s absolutely fucking had it with that bitch-ass motherfucker, acting like some haughty prince amongst this shitfest.

    “Givit. Back.” Katsuki’s own body is practically climbing the table, arm extended for his phone, but Ochako only holds the phone further away from his hand. It’s like she’s testing him, pressuring and pressuring until he snaps for good.

    Hell, he might do it right now. He’s drunk enough; going apeshit will just be covered up by the fact that he’s 100% wasted. He can go apeshit and then storm out of the restaurant and then go back to his dorm and oh wow, Izuku will actually be there this time and Katsuki will say his drunken hellos before slamming onto his bed and shuting his eyes and he can fucking sleep.

    Well, that’s if he can even stand up without throwing up everything in his digestive system.

    “Uraraka, give him his phone,” Eijirou mumbles as he rolls on his side. “Give Kacchan his phone...!”

    “ Kacchan?! ” Katsuki damn near roars as he flings a punch at Eijirou and misses. That’s Izuku’s name for him. No one else can call him that because it’s supposed to be this inside joke thing or whatever between him and Deku. Him and Deku. No one else is in on this inside joke. If you can even call it an inside joke.

    Shit, he’s losing his mind. This might be even worse than the drunk incident, because at least back then they got hammered and then split almost immediately. Now, they’re fucking reinacting the last supper, except that it’s four people, three of them are sloshed, and it’s absolute fucking chaos.

    Ochako decides to finally let up as she tosses back Katsuki’s phone. He snatches it out of midair like a cool motherfucker before instantly pulling up his and Izuku’s conversation. He notices that Ochako typed her own message (with a stupid fucking kaomoji, too ) under his name and he’s seriously wondering if he has a pass to hit one girl and one girl only.

---

hi izuku!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
ヾ(*⌒∇⌒)八(⌒∇⌒*)ツ

---

---

...Huh?
Kacchan?

---

---

I FUCKING HATE YOUR FRIENDS
THAT WAS ROUBD FACR

---

---

Oh, you’re drinking with Uraraka-san again?
Lol, that’s rough. ( ˘▽˘)っ♨
Tell her hello back!

---

---

Fuck NO

---

---

LOL
Anyway, do you know when you’ll be coming back?
I still can’t find the leftovers.
I’ll probably just order take-out if that’s the case. (o_ _)o

---

---

I hae no cluw when I’m comign bacj

---

---

Take-out time, then...
Have fun, Kacchan!
∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

---

---

Don’t tell mw what to do Deku

---

    And then he shuts off his phone. Everyone else is watching him (Ochako is watching very intently, like Katsuki’s some zoo animal). “The fuck you extras want?” Katsuki slurs infuriatingly.

    “He calls you... Kacchan...” Eijirou whimpers, and goddammit, is he crying again?

    “That’s so cute! ” Ochako squalls at a frequency that can shatter glass.

    “It’s pathetic,” Shouto comments with a shit-eating grin, heterochromatic eyes looking at Katsuki akin to how he’d look at a five year old brat.

    Katsuki snatches the pitcher and drinks the rest of it, deciding that he is now going to finally die for real.

Katsuki wakes up with the worst headache in... ever. Literally ever. He doesn’t think he’s had a headache as bad as this one. It’s practically splitting his skull right open, to the drastic point where he can barely open his eyes.

    He’s calling last night “drunk incident round two” until further notice. What the fuck, how does this keep happening. Katsuki’s got great self-control on most days, but suddenly when it’s up to Eijirou and Ochako, he has to get wasted like there’s no tomorrow. And if he keeps doing that, there will be no tomorrow. He’ll be dead.

    Katsuki’s about to sit up, but his head’s swimming so badly, he falls right back onto his mattress. Fuck it, it’s the weekend, he’ll just sleep the day away.

    He goes maybe thirty minutes of restless napping when he hears the door open. He cracks open a bloodshot eye and sees that familiar tousled-green hair at the entrance. His roommate’s got a big scarf around his neck so it covers his mouth, and in his hand is a plastic bag carrying something Katsuki can’t recognize.

    “Kacchan, you’re awake!” Izuku calls as he patters over to the blond. He’s still wearing his big jacket, but the scarf has since slipped down his face so Katsuki can actually see the guy’s lips move. “How’re you feeling?”

    “Like shit, ” Katsuki responds weakly, holding his forehead with one of his hands. “Deku, I think I am actually fucking dying.”

    “That’s a bummer,” says Izuku, smiling slowly growing on his freckled face, “because I bought you this!” He takes out a white box from the bag and holds it up triumphantly, like it’s a trophy or some shit.

    Katsuki squints. “The fuck is that.”

    Izuku opens the box and pulls out a miniature cake in the shape of a maple leaf. It’s colored a warm orange and it’s intricately designed to look just like the real-life foliage. It’s about the size of Katsuki’s hand. “For you!” Izuku says, holding it out to his roommate expectantly.

    Okay, the blond is officially at a loss for words. His plain-ass roommate just bought him a whole fucking cake on a Saturday, which is usually the day Izuku sleeps in until at least like five in the evening. Not to mention, it’s the Saturday after the drunk incident round two. And he’s smiling like a goddamn idiot, with cheeks so rosy they look like tiny stop signs.

    “You got a fork?” Katsuki rasps dumbly, because he genuinely can’t think of anything else to say.

    Izuku shrugs playfully. “There’s bound to be one in the kitchen. What, you can’t walk now?”

    “Hah, that’s funny,” Katsuki says dryly with an eye roll. Though, he is impressed that Izuku even remembered that line. That felt like ages ago.

    He shifts so he can stand up, but Izuku immediately puts down the cake and pulls Katsuki down on the bed again. “I’m just kidding! You’re still like, hungover out of your mind, probably. I’ll get the fork.”

    Seconds later, Izuku returns with a plastic fork. It looks just like the fork he used to devour that chicken alfredo. Wow, Katsuki sure is traveling down memory lane right now. He didn’t ask for all this stupid nostalgia, but the nostalgia can stay. It’s not that bad of a feeling.

    Katsuki takes that first bite, and huh, it’s just plain chocolate. There’s a hint of caramel hidden in there, but otherwise it’s a standard chocolate cake. What was Katsuki expecting, honestly? It’s a cake from the most ordinary man in the world.

    He then looks at Izuku, and the guy’s just taking off his jacket, shivering at how the temperature’s decreased pretty rapidly during the autumn months. Since their room doesn’t have an AC, it simultaneously doesn’t have a heater, so the colder seasons are pretty rough too. Katsuki’s personally fine with it, but he knows he’s an anomaly. 

    “Want some?” Katsuki asks, pointing to the maple leaf cake.

    Izuku stares for a moment before shaking his head. “Nah, I’m not a huge fan of chocolate.”

    “Okay, and why the fuck did you think I’d be a fan of chocolate?”

    “You made me chocolate chip cookies, so I thought you at least liked chocolate a little,” Izuku responds with a light tug at his scarf. Looks like he’s keeping that on, given the chilliness of the dorm.

    “Chocolate chip and just straight-on chocolate are like two different flavors,” Katsuki says matter-of-factly, though he can’t really add much more personality to it because if he does, his head will threaten his life. He leans his head against the side of his desk (which is lined up with the end of his bed) and sighs. “Well, thanks I guess.”

    Izuku beams in response, and for the first time, Katsuki sees dimples on his roommate’s face. They’re small and barely noticeable, but they’re...

    ...Nice.

    “You’re welcome,” Izuku replies. “But really, it’s because I pity you with the whole ‘drinking with Uraraka-san’ thing. I’m afraid you’re going to be her next drinking buddy if this keeps up.”

    “Holy fuck, if that ever happens, I want you to shoot me in the fucking head. I’d rather bleed to death then go through this shit a third time, ” Katsuki groans as he shovels more cake into his mouth. “Can’t you fuckin’ do something about this, traitor?”

    Izuku giggles and his shoulders shake along, and it’s nice. Izuku is nice, Katsuki decides. “Well, I can’t exactly tell Uraraka-san who to drink with and who not to drink with. After all, I don’t drink with her full stop, so I don’t have any authority.”

    “Traitor,” Katsuki grunts through the cake. “You fucking traitor.”

    “Don’t do any of that peer pressuring. I happen to like being sober, thank you very much.”

    “Fuck you.”

    “You don’t really mean that,” Izuku teases with a smile.

    Shit, maybe Katsuki doesn’t. All Izuku’s been to him lately is this kind, friendly samaritan. Kind of a little bastard at times, but that doesn’t reduce the amount of samaritan Izuku has in his blood.

    Katsuki jabs the prongs of his fork at Izuku. “Fine. Unfuck you or whatever.”

    Katsuki ultimately concludes that Izuku’s laughter sounds really fucking nice for such a whatever guy.

Chapter Text

It’s November now, and Katsuki’s fucking sick of all the Christmas ads he’s seeing left and right.

    He knows Christmas isn’t that huge of a deal in Japan, but holy shit, why is every store nearby so obsessed with that holiday? It’s literally just gifting presents and spending time with friends and family.

    Katsuki’s always disliked Christmas for being this tacky, commercialized holiday with little flair. It’s boring. Like Izuku. But at least Izuku’s boringness is charming in its own right. Christmas’s boringness is just boring.

    He guesses the holiday could be worse. It could be Valentines day, where it’s practically a chocolate advertisement, or even worse, white day, where he’s actually expected to care about said chocolate advertisement. Anyway, the point is Katsuki’s a stick in the mud and doesn’t respond to festivities the same way as everyone else. He thinks they’re dumb and doesn’t waste a second thinking about them.

    His roommate is the exact fucking opposite. The second November hit, Izuku hasn’t shut up about Christmas presents. He’s got a whole planning notebook for it, that’s how dedicated he is.

    “Deku, for the love of that stupid fucking anime you watch,” Katsuki strains through his teeth, “ shut the hell up for five fucking seconds. ”

    Izuku glances up from his notebook and a silly smile hints at his lips. “No thanks!”

    Oh yeah, also, Izuku’s been getting real cheeky nowadays. It’s like the moment he realized that Katsuki doesn’t hate him as much as he thought, he’s gotten all bold. It’s jarring, to say the least, because Izuku’s usually a pretty humble guy, with very average self-esteem levels.

    It’s a rare weekday where the two are in the same dorm together. Katsuki’s playing that dumbass farm simulator on his phone while Izuku’s furiously scribbling gift ideas on his notebook pages. It’s snowing outside, which is cool, Katsuki supposes. The lighting in the dorm makes the whole atmosphere look pretty warm, which is fucking hilarious because it’s actually freezing.

    Katsuki looks over again (past all the nerdy rambling) and notices that Izuku’s shivering a bit. He’s wearing a knitted sweater that goes past his hips, which should be warm enough, but Katsuki can even hear the slight chatter in his dialogue. The guy’s like, three steps away from hypothermia.

    Let the record show that Katsuki doesn’t give a shit about whether or not Izuku’s cold.

    Cool. Now that that’s out of the way -- Katsuki bunches up one of his throw blankets and chucks it at Izuku. It’s soft and heated, perfect for winter snuggling, but Katsuki’s never really needed it before. He just likes the texture.

    Izuku lets the blanket hit his hair in surprise. “Hey,” Izuku gripes before pulling the thing off his head. “Wait, this is... are you...”

    “You don’t have to fucking say it,” Katsuki suppliments as he turns his attention back to the mobile app.

    “...Lending me your blanket?” Izuku finishes quietly.

    “You’re shaking, aren’t you?”

    “You do care!” says Izuku brightly as he promptly wraps the blanket around his body. When Katsuki peeks at his roommate, he’s covered from head to toe in fluffy material. His head’s poking out like he’s some Russian nesting doll. “Thanks, Kacchan!”

    “Don’t mess it up,” is Katsuki’s only response. Izuku looks so fucking stupid, it’s almost kind of endearing.

And every time Katsuki sees Eijirou on campus, with his big dorky smile and his radiant red hair, Katsuki’s automatically reminded that Izuku’s gay.

    He’s gay. Or at least bi or something -- Izuku likes men, and Katsuki keeps forgetting that. It’s not a big deal at all, but it’s weird to think that his own roommate is just like him. Oh would you look at that, another unexpected similarity amidst all of their polar opposites.

    He and Izuku haven’t talked about his rejection since the pasta incident, and even then Izuku didn’t go into any detail, so Katsuki’s just assumed that Izuku didn’t want to say anything. And normally Katsuki would be a little bitch about it, because he hates when people hide things from him, but surprisingly he doesn’t really mind that anymore. That’s crazy; Katsuki really is growing out of his whiny bitchboy middle-school phase.

    Anyway, Eijirou is under the very wrong impression that he and Katsuki are best bros for life now, just because they worked on one (1) group project together and went out for drinks twice. All of those instances were against Katsuki’s free will, but Eijirou doesn’t see it that way, that bastard.

    “Hey man!” Eijirou greets affectionately as he walks up to Katsuki. Katsuki himself is sitting on that campus bench that he and Shouto sat on back in July for popsicles. He’s alone this time -- no Shouto -- and eating a sandwich. There’s a light snowfall, but nothing too big where Katsuki needs to go inside.

    Katsuki muffles a greeting and promptly spreads his legs so wide, Eijirou’s got no place to sit on the bench.

    Eijirou’s smile falters. “C’mon, dude...”

    “Hell no,” Katsuki says with another bite into his sandwich.

    “Man-spreading isn’t manly...”

    “Does it look like I give a fuck?”

    Eijirou looks at him like a kicked puppy, so Katsuki decides fine, what the hell and retracts his legs. The redhead’s eyes lighten immediately as he takes a seat next to the blond. “Thanks!”

    “Fuck you,” is Katsuki’s very colloquial reply.

    The guy’s just as tolerant as Izuku, because he takes that comment as a joke and he laughs at it. “Well anyway, I was wondering if you were busy this Christmas.”

    “What, you wanna go on a date?” Katsuki jeers as he crumples the sandwich wrapping in his hand.

    “Uh, no,” Eijirou responds with a resigned smile, “I’m not gay.”

    Oh yeah. Well, even if Eijirou were gay, he’s not Katsuki’s type. Actually, what the hell even is Katsuki’s type? He’s never sat down to think about it really; the guy he confessed to in high school was just your average pretty boy with a lot of adoring fans. Katsuki isn’t even sure he liked the guy. He was probably just attracted to his good looks.

    Katsuki swears he’s not that shallow anymore. In fact, Katsuki hasn’t really liked anyone after that colossal failure of a confession. Dating just isn’t part of his lifestyle, and he doesn’t particularly feel like caring about another person to the point of liking them romantically. That’s never happened before and it’ll never fucking happen and oh wait, is Eijirou still talking?

    “...So? How about it?” Eijirou says enthusiastically.

    Shit, Katsuki zoned out. He only caught onto the tail end of the proposal, but Katsuki’s not just going to admit his defeat like a loser. “Okay,” he says even though he’s got no fucking clue what Eijirou’s just asked of him.

    “Awesome!” the redhead cheers as he stands up and adjusts the scarf around his neck. “Then I’ll send you the details later! Thanks, man! I owe you!” He gives a final thankful wave and he’s off.

    Owe Katsuki what? What the fuck is he doing on Christmas?

    The good thing is, Katsuki fucking loathes Christmas so much, he refuses to do anything fun during it. He doesn’t go home to his family because his family’s fucking annoying, and his friends are all busy doing their own shtick during the holidays too. Katsuki’s used to being alone during the “jolliest time of the year” or whatever stupid bullshit Christmas is supposed to represent.

    So even if Katsuki didn’t want to do what Eijirou brought up, he probably would’ve ended up doing it anyway. He likely didn’t have anything better to do. Fuck that guy, honestly.

Shitty Hair

---

hey man it’s me!!! kirishima!!! :D

---

---

Yeah I know that
You didn’t have my number during the project?

---

---

no i did!!!
i just didn’t add you as a contact
so i never texted you

---

 

---

Whatever

---

---

anyway!
the meeting will be at the downtown udon restaurant at six pm!!!
on christmas eve!!!
sound cool? :0

---

---

Okay
I’m gonna be completely honest
I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about

---

---

did you hear anything i said? lol

---

---

Uh
No

---

---

but you agreed anyway?

---

---

WELL SHIT, I GUESS I FUCKING DID, DIDN’T I?
OR ELSE I WOULDN’T BE IN THIS SITUATION RIGHT NOW

---

---

LOLLLL
do you want me to tell you?
or are you just going to back out
because just say the word if you want out

---

---

I feel like I don’t have a fucking choice in the matter
So just tell me again

---

---

ok!!!
so i like this girl in my marketing class
uh actually i’ve liked her for like years but that’s besides the point
her name is ashido mina and she’s really awesome
she and i are pretty close in our class but i don’t want to like, ask her out on a date yet or anything
because i don’t really know??? if she likes me in the way i like her???
anyway i asked if she’d like to have udon with me and a couple friends, yknow, as kind of like a christmas eve hangout, and she said yes

---

---

Fucking hell am I one of the friends

---

---

so i went looking for some friends who were free that day
HAHAHA
yeah
because we’re bros!!! :D

---

---

I never FUCKING agreed to that but okay

---

---

you’re a bro in my heart bro :’)
anyway if you come along it’ll be me, ashido, you, todoroki and my friend kaminari

---

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HAD to be half and half
You couldn’t have gotten ANY other asshole to join you

---

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he said he wants to try udon for a change
since he’s such a cold soba fan, lol

---

---

Whatever

---

---

so are you in bro? :0

---

---

Do I have a choice

---

---

yes!!!

---

---

DO I?

---

---

well...
you’re my bro
and i need some serious bro-help if i’m gonna survive the night with my crush at the same table as me :’(

---

---

Great
Why didn’t you just outright say I didn’t have a choice
Fuck you
But fine

---

---

YAYYY
THANK YOU BAKUBRO!!!

---

“Hey Deku, what’re you doing for Christmas eve?”

    Izuku shifts his head from his pillow to look at Katsuki drowsily. His eyes are lidded, meaning that he’s practically half-asleep. “Mm, nothing, probably.”

    “I thought you were buying all those gifts.”

    “Yeah, but that’s for Christmas, not Christmas eve,” he responds with a content sigh. Katsuki notices that he’s still got his throw blanket wrapped around him, like it suddenly belongs to Izuku now. Fucking hell, he better be getting that back.

    Katsuki wonders if Izuku got a present for him. Probably not -- they’re just roommates who happen to also sorta be friends. Izuku’s probably buying presents for his family, which by the way, Katsuki has no idea what kind of family his roommate has. He’s apparently not going back home for the break, so is Izuku’s family just as insufferable as Katsuki’s?

    He doesn’t ask because he doesn’t care. He does have a dream about Christmas presents, though.

Katsuki’s in the middle of cleaning on this early December afternoon when he gets a call from his old hag. He hates keeping in contact with her, because the two of them are practically the same fucking person. They’re both easily irritable and their conversations usually end up as screaming matches. Katsuki definitely knows where he gets his shit personality. Thanks, Mom.

    The phone rings three times before Katsuki begrudgingly picks it up. “What.”

    “Hello, problem child,” his mother so dotingly says, voice very heavy with the kind of sass Katsuki hates. “Just wanted to call to see how things are going.”

    “They’re fucking going, okay?” Katsuki grumbles, taking a slight pause in his cleaning to amuse his mother’s whimsies. She’s probably at home right now, tap-tap-tapping away on her computer, working on some layout for that dumb fashion magazine she works for.

    “Hey! Show your mother some damn respect, brat!” she yells, and Katsuki hears a quiet clatter from the other side. Must be the computer. “I heard from Shouto-kun’s mother that you got evicted from your own dorm room.”

    Man, fuck Shouto. What is he, some double agent? This is a great reminder to Katsuki that he should never trust that rat with any sort of secret. “So what.”

    She scoffs, “ so, you deserved it.”

    “That is definitely not what a loving mother should tell her son.”

    “I love you, sweetie,” his mother cooes, “but you deserved it.”

    Katsuki has to stifle the urge to throw his phone so hard out the dorm window, it goes sailing across half the city.

    “Anyway, who’s your new roommate?” his mother continues like Katsuki didn’t just mentally go through a million different ways to end the call. “I already feel bad for them, since they’ll be dealing with your nonsense every day. They must have a willpower of steel to stay with you for what, five months now?”

    “ Fuck you, ” Katsuki sneers through his clenched jaw.

    “So you won’t tell me who it is?”

    “Deku.” Katsuki’s not elaborating. His old hag doesn’t deserve to know who the hell his “Deku” is because she doesn’t deserve to know anything squat.

    His mother growls through the phone and it sounds oddly like his own. Damn, Katsuki really does take from his mom. Maybe he’ll try changing himself just to get away from relating to her. “Bakugou Katsuki, if you don’t tell me the poor soul who you’ve been torturing for the last five months, I will come over there right now and you will regret it! ‘Deku’ is not a real name!”

    The hell does she know? “Deku” is just as real of a name as “Kacchan”, which Katsuki knows, through first-hand experience, is a very real name. But he knows that if he doesn’t tell her Izuku’s real name, she’ll go absolutely ballistic. They’re the exact same in that way. Shit, Katsuki really should change for the better, now that he’s really evaluating.

    He heaves a surrendering sigh. “His name’s Midoriya Izuku.”

    “Midoriya? I have a friend with that surname,” his mother says, so damn calmly like that threat didn’t fucking happen. “Does your roommate have a mother named Inko?”

    “How the hell would I know that?!” Katsuki shouts directly into the speaker. “You think I just ask him about his fucking mother?! ”

    Just then, the dorm door opens and that mint-honeydew roommate that Katsuki’s talking about right at that moment walks in. He’s seriously bundled up this time; he’s wearing this dumb beanie that matches his scarf, and his coat’s like several layers thicker. He must be really weak to the cold, judging by how red his nose and cheeks are. It’s not even that cold out and he’s already shuddering like crazy.

    Izuku looks up and gives Katsuki a silent wave and a smile. Clearly he doesn’t want to infringe on Katsuki’s call, but Katsuki doesn’t fucking care because they’re talking about him anyway. “Hey nerd, what’s your mom’s name?”

    His smile immediately disappears, confusion settling on his face. “Uh... why?”

    “My mom’s asking.”

    “Why?”

    Katsuki rolls his eyes. “She thinks she knows your mom or some shit.”

    “Oh.” Izuku reaches for the phone, and Katsuki doesn’t really feel like talking to his mom anymore anyway, so he hands it off. His roommate brings it to his ear, “hello Bakugou-san! I’m Ka-- uh, Bakugou-kun’s roommate!”

    Katsuki put the call on speaker, so he hears his mother immediately shift tones into this nice, friendly, ideal-motherly voice. God, what a fake hag. “Hello! You’re Izuku-kun, aren’t you?”

    “Yes,” Izuku responds, but not without a shocked glance at Katsuki. His face says you told your mom my real name? What happened to “Deku”? Katsuki wishes he knew what happened to “Deku”, but he’s got no answer for that.

    “Just asking, is your mother’s name Inko?”

    “Ah, yeah!”

    “Oh, wonderful! She and I go out for lunch sometimes. She’s such a nice lady, and I’m sure she’s raised her son well, too.”

    “Oh, uh, thank you,” Izuku says with a sheepish grin. Katsuki facepalms. He hates when his mom flatters people. It sounds so goddamn wrong coming from her mouth.

    His mother laughs through the phone. “Well, I feel like I have to apologize on behalf of my own son. He’s so... frustrating. ”

    “ Like you’re any better! ” Katsuki bellows, snatching the phone right back. “Fuck you! Don’t call me ever fucking again!” He hangs up aggressively and hurls his phone onto his bed, where the impact leaves a sizable crater on the comforter, it’s actually kinda impressive.

    He then picks up his cleaning supplies and goes straight back to work.

    Izuku’s watching him with those green eyes, but they’re not pissed off or anything. They actually look vaguely entertained. “What was that?”

    “ Hate that shitty hag,” Katsuki mumbles absentmindedly. He’s now back to focusing on dust bunnies.

    “She seems nice.”

    “She’s so fucking fake.”

    “So what’s she really like?” Izuku asks as he takes off his hat. He’s got a serious case of hat hair, even if he isn’t sweating at all. Katsuki isn’t surprised in the slightest, because that guy doesn’t even bother to brush his hair in the mornings. His style is in a perpetual state of messy.

    Katsuki glares at Izuku with eyes so sharp they could cut metal. Izuku doesn’t back down, as usual. Katsuki doesn’t even think he can anymore. Oh, how time changes people. “She’s exactly like me.”

    Izuku’s smile only grows. “Yikes!”

    “Yeah.”

    “Well, at least she knows how to hide it,” his roommate taunts with a wink. “You’ve still got a long way to go, Kacchan.”

    Katsuki then proceeds to chase Izuku around the dorm with his broom as his weapon, Izuku’s beautifully ordinary laughter filling the chilly air.

So there’s this one lecture class that Katsuki’s taking that Eijirou’s crush is also taking. Katsuki didn’t notice at first, because he doesn’t focus on people in his lecture classes (they’re so damn many; how is he expected to remember all their names), but today a girl sits next to him and introduces herself with a perky smile. “Hey! You’re Bakugou, right?”

    “Yeah?” Katsuki replies with an eyebrow raise. He just got off of a text conversation with Izuku about what they’re having for dinner. Izuku’s going to be late again, and Katsuki’s last class ends at seven, so he figures he’ll make something easy.

    None of that matters in this situation because Katsuki is not talking to Izuku right now. He’s talking to some girl with bright pink dyed hair, tanned skin, and a big, big smile. Jesus, is he some sort of optimism magnet? First Izuku, then his two dumbass friends, and now this girl?

    “I’m Ashido Mina!” she says brightly. “Kirishima told me all about you.”

    “I’ll kill him,” is Katsuki’s default response whenever someone introduces him to another person. Does Katsuki look like he wants to meet new people?

    Mina only giggles at the comment. She’s hard-headed, just like Eijirou. “It’d fuckin’ suck if you did that.”

    She curses. Okay, this girl’s very quickly winning on my favorable-traits checklist.

    “Anyway, I thought I’d say hi, since we’re in the same class and all,” Mina continues without skipping a beat.

    “As long as you don’t force me to join your dumbfuck group projects or drag me out to drink like all hell’s breaking loose, we’ll be fine.”

    Mina raises her own manicured eyebrows in surprise, but she doesn’t seem off-put by his requirements. “Sounds good, dude. You’re not as angry as Kirishima described you.”

    “I am very angry,” Katsuki clarifies.

    “Oh, okay. Thanks for clearing up the confusion.”

    “You are not welcome.”

    She laughs. “ And you’ve got a sense of humor! Why do you make yourself look so unapproachable? I think if you just put a little more effort in befriending people, you’d be super duper popular.”

    Why the fuck do people keep saying that? Katsuki doesn’t care about being popular. He’s just some guy -- a handsome, irresistible guy, but that’s outside the point -- who wants to get his degree already and get the hell out of here. He’s not planning on staying and knowing these extras personally. He’s a busy man with places to go and things to do.

    And why the hell does this sentiment sound exactly like Shouto’s degrading one? The one where he shat all over Katsuki’s personality? Fine, maybe Katsuki is sensitive to some extent, so Shouto’s “stop being a jerkface” comment is still following Katsuki to this very day. He still thinks about it at the worst possible moments.

    “Fucking whatever, ” Katsuki says out loud, just to throw Mina off his trail, but deep down he’s wondering if he really should change. Fuck, every single sign in his life is practically begging him to reinvent himself. His prior roommate got all up in his business for being a dick, his friend of five years is sick his hostile attitude, his current roommate’s way too good of a person to be dealing with his sorry ass, and he sure doesn’t want to end up like his mom of all people (even though she’s successful and well-liked, Katsuki knows the real her).

    Maybe he actually should put in some effort. Maybe he’ll give the whole “reinvent yourself” concept a thought that lasts longer than three seconds. Before, he treated Shouto’s words like a challenge, but now they actually kinda sound appealing, like, for real.

    But he’s not gonna think about that right now, because class is starting and Katsuki’d rather drown his brain in mindless physics junk than deal with self-reflection.

“Am I a bad person?”

    He’s sitting in front of the last person he wants to be talking to right now -- Ochako, because he knows how dangerous she is -- with a glass of cola in one hand (not beer, because he has learned his lesson) and a fistfull of his hair in the other.

    One might be wondering, how the fuck did Katsuki get into this situation?

    So Katsuki and Ochako don’t share any classes anymore. Thank fuck. But Ochako is still close friends with Izuku, which apparently means she has full access to Katsuki at all times. That’s not how it’s supposed to work, but Ochako is a pretty pushy person, and never takes no to a drink out for an answer.

    Katsuki, who’s actually genuinely been self-reflecting for the past two days, is kind of going through a crisis. Like, a serious, no-bullshit crisis. And he doesn’t really have anyone to talk to about this, because Izuku’s all busy as fuck and he’s not confiding in Shouto about the one thing Shouto brought up to him. So when Ochako asked Katsuki if he’d like to join her for a drink, he reluctantly settled on her.

    Here’s the thing. Katsuki doesn’t really relish in the thought of being a bad person. He’s difficult and angry and sometimes a handful to deal with, but he’s never really considered himself to be bad.

    But now he’s starting to think that maybe he is bad. He’s the one who fucked up the original roommate situation, after all. And he also left a terrible first-impression on Izuku, who was so frustrated by Katsuki’s bullshit that he fucking left for three days. His closest friend, someone who he’s been with for years and knows him inside-out, is a former asshole who stinks of first world problems. And also he keeps spouting out death threats to people, and even though everyone knows he won’t follow through on any of them, it’s still not a great look.

    That’s just who Katsuki is. He’s lived his entire life being a jerk with a heart of coal, and he’s honestly thought that maybe he can keep living like this until he dies. He’s a bitch. And he’s proud of it.

Kind of. Not really anymore. Okay, after the last two days, he’s actually feeling pretty guilty about it. How many potential relationships has he ruined just by being a dickhead? He’s in quite the internal predicament.

And now here we are, present time.

“You’re an awful person,” Ochako says with a swig of her drink. There is absolutely no hesitance in her voice.

“Alright, fuck you, ” Katsuki roars as he slams down his soda.

She shrugs cooly. “I figured you wanted to hear the truth instead of hear me dance around it.”

“Okay, fine, but--” Katsuki bites his tongue, because what answer is he even looking for? No? No, Bakugou, you’re not a bad person? Why would he even ask the question if that’s the answer he demands?

So instead he slumps in his chair and says “fine” into his arms.

“It’s just that,” Ochako adds after a sip, “you’re always so... loud? Like, you never sit down and think about what you say to people, and how your words can be harmful. And also, it’s like every single thing someone says to you is an accusation. You take things way too seriously, and you’re way too sensitive to simple comments. But at the same time, you don’t want to think about the things people tell you, and you continue to be stubborn even after you’ve been called out on your crap.”

“Well, fuck, ” Katsuki groans, combing his hair back in desperation, “guess I am a shit person.” He didn’t really expect Ochako to read him like a damn pamphlet. And worst of all, he can’t even refute any of those claims, because after his inner analysis on himself, his own perception of himself and Ochako’s perception of him are one in the same.

Ochako shakes her head with a smile. “I mean, being an awful person and being a morally wrong person are different. I think you’ve got the worst personality I’ve ever seen, but you’re not like a bad person, period. You know?”

“Elaborate.”

“I think you do good things. Otherwise, Izuku would be visiting me a lot more often than just that one time. He’s a pretty good judge of character.”

“Well, I’m an ass. So he’s clearly not that good of a judge.”

“You have the personality of an ass, but that doesn’t make you a morally bad person.”

“Okay fine, I’m not morally bad, but that’s like the bare fuckin’ minimum. I don’t kill people or do illegal shit. That’s what I’m supposed to do.”

“Yep. So what’re you asking me?”

Katsuki really, really wants to splash all his soda on Ochako’s face, but he abstains. They’re in public, and he’s not drunk right now so he doesn’t have that whole tipsy excuse. “I’m asking if I’m a bad person to other people. Fuck the morality shit, that’s shit I already know.”

Ochako bunches her lips to one side, deep in thought. “Well, yeah. ”

“Great.”

“I’m not finished! You have the potential to hurt the people around you, but I don’t necessarily think you mean to purposefully break relationships or anything like that. I think you’re just really awful at this whole feelings thing.”

“So what the fuck do I do?! I’ve always been this way!”

“Do you really want to change or something?” Ochako asks incredulously, and Katsuki really thinks she shouldn’t be judging someone like him when she’s on her fifth glass of beer already. Then again, she’s probably much better at recognizing emotions than Katsuki ever has been.

Katsuki grumbles an aggravated “yeah, whatever.” Shouto better not be hearing a peep about this.

“Then be more true to yourself,” she responds simply. “You keep acting like you’re not affected by things, like you ‘don’t care’ about the people or the activities in your life, but you do.”

“No I don’t,” he snaps.

“Bakugou-kun, I don’t even really know you, and I know you care. You care about a lot of things.”

Dammit, is he that easy to figure out? He hates that. He hates that so much.

“And yes, you care about a lot of people, too.”

“Do you think this emotional constipation and this anger is just some fucking joke? Because damn, my entire childhood must’ve been a fucking wreck. ”

Ochako frowns as she leans forward, brown hair brushing Katsuki’s glass. He moves it away before some of it dips into his cola. “I think a lot of your anger is natural, but there’s also plenty of it that can be avoided.”

“Stop acting like my fucking therpist,” huffs Katsuki.

“You’re asking me some therapist-worthy questions,” retorts Ochako with a grin.

“Look, I don’t want to just... stop being angry entirely.” It sounds stupid, but Katsuki finds solace in rage. It’s like his element or some deep, wacky shit.

“I never said that! Anger’s an important emotion,” Ochako argues with a resolute nod. “If you’re never angry, how do you ever argue your side? Or how do you stop things from happening? You’ll never get anything done if you don’t even have an ounce of anger in you.”

“Sounds wrong, ” Katsuki murmurs, “but okay... ”

“Heh, I could just be saying random stuff now, since I’m kiiiinda tipsy,” Ochako says with a cheesy smile. “But yeah, I really don’t think your anger’s inherently a bad thing. I think it’s very characteristic of you, so if you ever got rid of it, I wouldn’t even be able to recognize you!”

Katsuki has no idea if this is a good or a bad thing. He vaguely remembers Eijirou saying that it’s just an observation, but Katsuki’s getting tired of just being observed, like his anger’s something to be put in a display case. It’s a real emotion, a genuine depiction of his character, and Katsuki’s realized that his wrath has probably hurt more than helped.

Oh well, Katsuki will just have to learn how to change that anger into something good. Good anger, or whatever the hell that means. He’ll figure it out. He’s smart.

Katsuki knows he’s a naturally emotional guy; if he weren’t, he wouldn’t be so overly dramatic all the time. But maybe it’s time he actually tapped into his true feelings instead of parading around like he’s completely incapable of stooping down to levels he’s not familiar with. And maybe once he does that, he won’t be such a fucking jerk to people who just want to be his friend.

He can start with Ochako. “Thanks, this actually kind of helped, um, buddy.”

“ Buddy?! ” Ochako nearly spits out her alcohol right onto Katsuki’s face, and he immediately retracts the thank you. Never mind. Katsuki will start with someone else.

Deku

---

Hey
What do you want for dinner

---

---

What’re the options?
♪<( ´∀｀)っ

---

---

Anything
I have half a day off
I can buy ingredients

---

OI
DON’T LEAVE ME ON READ
ANSWER ME NERD

---

---

Sorry Kacchan, I was just so shocked!!!
Kacchan going out to buy ingredients just to make what I want?!
Doesn’t that sound impossible?! （・□・；）

---

---

Shut the fuck up Deku
I like cooking so why not

---

---

Wow...!!!
So cool!!!
I have to think!!!

---

---

Jesus
Well hurry it up
I still need to buy the shit

---

---

Can you make katsudon? (රڡර人)

---

---

Yeah

---

---

REALLY???
Kacchan, you’re the coolest!!!

---

---

Yeah I know
When are you coming back

---

---

Uhhh around seven, I think

---

---

K

---

---

Why do you ask? (´꒳`∗)

---

---

So I don’t make it too early and it goes fuckin cold
Don’t be late

---

---

YES SIR!!!
(*>ω<)ゞ

---

Deku

---

Kacchan, do you mind if I eat the rest of the leftovers?
_:(´ཀ`」 ∠):_

---

---

That is THE WORST emoji you have ever sent me
Also yeah sure
Shit’s too fattening for me anyway

---

---

LOL
But you made it. (๑╹ڡ╹)

---

---

And
Tell me something I don’t know

---

---

Haha, I guess that’s fair.

---

Deku

---

When are you coming back

---

---

Sorry Kacchan, I’m going to be out for a while today! ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚
I ran into some complications with my project, so I have to stay back and work through the problems with my professor and some other students.
Maybe I’ll be back by eleven?
It sucks!!!
I’m sorry!!! (´Д｀。)

---

---

Calm down Deku it’s fine

---

---

Why did you want to know then?

---

---

So I could fuckin sleep at a normal time
When you come back earlier than ten I usually just stay up until you’re back

---

---

Oh, you wait for me to return?
Haha that’s adorable
I didn’t know Kacchan cared! (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ

---

---

Shut the hell your mouth
Do your fuckin work

---

---

LOL okay
See you later Kacchan! ヾ(＾∇＾)

---

---

Bye

---

Icy Hot

---

Midoriya told me you’re being really nice to him lately.
Is this a part of some sick, twisted brainwashing scheme?
If so, cease immediately.
Midoriya is my friend.
I will not let you harm him.

---

---

Icy hot I will TEAR OUT YOUR EYEBALLS

---

---

You’ve used that threat so many times towards me, I no longer fear it.

---

---

What’s so wrong about me being nice
Ain’t that what you wanted

---

---

Well, yeah...
But this is a little weird, to say the least.
I’m not used to you being a decent person.

---

---

Oh I can be SO decent
I will be the MOST DECENT MOTHERFUCKER you have EVER FUCKING SEEN

---

---

Is that a threat?

---

---

You bet your ass it is

---

Also fuck you I’m allowed to be nice to Deku
Is that really so fucked up

---

---

Never said it was fucked up.
It’s nice, I guess.
Just... very out of character.

---

---

Fuck you

---

---

That’s the Bakuattitude I’m familiar with.

---

It’s Christmas eve, and Katsuki is very rapidly regretting all of the decisions he’s made that got him to this point.

    It’s that night, also known as the night where he helps Eijirou not freak the fuck out during dinner with his crush. Katsuki’s getting softer by the minute -- earlier today, he even texted a low-effort “good luck” to Eijirou, just to ease his nerves. He got like twenty texts back about how he’s a great bro and how he’s so amazing and awesome and manly and whatever, which was cool or something.

    Katsuki isn’t really excited for what’s about to happen, sitting in the udon restaurant with Eijirou and his friend Denki, because what the hell is he benefiting from this? He barely knows either Mina or Denki, and judging by how Denki’s being a total tease, both verbally and physically, Katsuki can predict a long night.

    Oh also, Shouto will be there again. Katsuki has to will literally every single atom in his body to not flip his shit when Shouto inevitably shows up and ruins Katsuki’s mood. They’re friends, but Katsuki hates him.

    The doors open and Eijirou whips his head at the sound. He’s practically a personified dog. Katsuki rolls his eyes when he hears Shouto’s calm voice and Mina’s peppy one as they make their way over to the table. “Hey, Ashido!” Eijirou says with a big ol’ smile, sharp canines in full view and cheeks a pretty pink, as he waves for her to sit down.

    “Hey!” she says back with a friendly wave. “And I see Bakubitch is here too!”

    “ Bakubitch? ” Katsuki says, narrowing his eyes in a mix of both disturbance and anger.

    “Yeah! Because your name is Bakugou, and you’re a bitch,” she says as she so effortlessly breaks down her nickname for him in the most good-natured yet condescending way possible. Katsuki would break this very glass of water over her head, but he’s trying to change, so he won’t. (Changing actually has nothing to do with it, since Katsuki has never really acted on any of his impulses. He just thinks them and then forgets them.)

    Also, what the hell happened to “you’re not as angry as Kirishima described you”? Fucking Christ, it’s gotta be Shouto and his instant influence on her soul. It’s always Shouto who’s the one with the Baku-somethings and no matter how often Katsuki tells him to shut up, he doesn’t.

    Anyway, the five of them get all settled and order their shit before Denki speaks up. He’s on the other side of the table, sitting next to Shouto and right across from Katsuki. “So! Bakugou, I heard you’re quite the chef!”

    “From who?” Katsuki asks, brain hard at work to figure out who could’ve told this stupid man his culinary skills. He only cooks for Tenya (prior to eviction) and Izuku for cohabitation reasons. He’s never cooked for Shouto or Eijirou, and definitely not Mina...

    Denki grins like a cheshire cat. “Midoriya, man! He keeps talking about how good your food is. Can I invite myself over someday and--”

    “ Fuck no, ” Katsuki responds instantly. He’s going to throttle Izuku later for being such a gossip.

    Shouto smirks knowingly, and Katsuki knows he’s in for some sincere headassery. “Why not, Bakugou? Your food must be really good if Midoriya’s praising it all the time.”

    Katsuki growls, “you’ve never even had my food, dipshit. The fuck do you know.”

    “Well, Midoriya tells me all about it, so he’s where I get all my information.”

    Shouto smiles cheekily. It’s so cheeky, it’s downright threatening. Katsuki wants to rip that dumbfuck mouth off that dumbfuck face. It already drives Katsuki crazy that Shouto’s a conniving bastard who loves to toy with his emotions, but it drives him even crazier to know that he’s on such good terms with his damn roommate. He can’t even get a normal fucking conversation in with Izuku on most days anymore.

    Katsuki is not jealous. He is not jealous, he is not jealous, he is not jealous. He just fucking hates Shouto. There is no jealousy involved.

    “Hey, I wanna try some of Bakugou’s cooking too!” Mina whines from the other side of Eijirou. She’s a good distance away, but her voice is loud and sing-songy enough to be heard probably from miles away.

    “I’m not cooking for any of you bastards!” Katsuki finalizes as he hits the table affirmatively.

    “But you’ll cook for Midoriya? Man, that’s just ruthless,” Denki says with an exasperated sigh.

    Eijirou stays quiet for a reason Katsuki’s pretty sure he knows. He’s always awkward when Izuku’s in the conversation. Katsuki wants to knock the guy’s skull so hard, his eyeballs turn in their sockets, and then tell him to fuckin’ take this shit like a man. He and Izuku are friends, aren’t they?

    But Katsuki doesn’t do anything at all, because he doesn’t want to risk outing Izuku to more people. He may be a bitch, but he’s no total bitch; he won’t make a mistake like that and potentially ruin Izuku’s reputation.

    Their food arrives and their conversation flows like water. Denki and Mina are the most talkative ones at the table, constantly chatting away about whatever. Eijirou occasionally butts in with his own opinion or takes on the matter. Shouto and Katsuki both stay out of that shit because both of them are introverts who don’t take pleasure in talking. In fact, the two of them make their own silent game to see who will drink more water during the night. Since it’s not beer, Shouto has no problem with chugging like there’s no tomorrow.

    It’s nice, Katsuki thinks. It’s actually kind of nice. He’s never been a fan of hanging out with people, because ew people, but it’s not... bad.

    Until it turns bad.

    About two hours in, Katsuki’s phone buzzes. He flips it face-up from its place on the table and whaddya know, it’s Izuku again. He’s always texting Katsuki at the worst instances imaginable, but at least Katsuki isn’t black-out drunk this time around.

Deku

---

Hey Kacchan
This is kind of unfortunate, but I’m in a bit of a pickle. ｡ﾟ(*´□`)ﾟ｡

---

    The fuck? Katsuki glances at the conversation that’s going on and decides he can afford to miss it. They’re talking about piglets and whether or not they’re smart. Katsuki sincerely means it when he says he can’t give a shit about pigs.

---

What’s up Deku

---

---

Oh good, you’re online!!
My savior!!! (˃ ⌑ ˂ഃ )

---

---

The fuck happened to you

---

---

I forgot my keys to the dorm...
I can’t get in!
I thought about going to Uraraka-san’s dorm just to wait it out until you came back, but she’s visiting family.
And then I thought about going to Todoroki-kun’s, and I did, but he’s with you, and his roommate isn’t there either...
I tried various other friends, but none of them are there!!!
I’m stuck!!!
｡ﾟ( ﾟஇ‸இﾟ)ﾟ｡
Kacchan help!!!

---

---

Christ Deku
You’re fucking worthless
You seriously forgot the keys to our own dorm?

---

---

NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR INSULTS KACCHAN!!!
It’s really cold in the hallways, and I lost my gloves... ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚
I’m thinking about going back to the library, but that means I’d have to go outside again, and I’m too cold...
I hate to be a bother, but can you come back?
Unless you’re doing something really important!!!
I know it’s Christmas eve and everything, so you’re probably out doing something special.
If that’s the case then I can wait!!!
Don’t worry about me!!! (＞Д＜)ゝ”

---

---

Go to the dorm lobby?
Is that place heated

---

---

No ( ≧Д≦)
It’s actually empty, probably because it’s Christmas eve and nobody’s really here.
There’s a Christmas tree though...
Maybe it will keep me company, haha
(´•ω•̥`)

---

---

Okay I get it
You’re dying
I’m omw

---

---

THANK YOU KACCHAN!!!!! ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д`ﾟ)ﾟ｡
YOU ARE THE BEST ROOMMATE EVER!!!!!!!! ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д`ﾟ)ﾟ｡

---

---

Yeah I fucking know
Sit tight

---

---

Okay!!!

---

    “Going out,” Katsuki announces, abruptly standing up from his seat. The chatting instantly stops as the three of them now have their eyes on the blond. Shouto raises his eyebrows expectantly, like he’s been waiting for this to happen. Fuck him, honestly.

    “Where’re you going?” Mina asks with a blink.

    “Did we bore you that hard?” Denki adds with a laugh.

    “Yes,” Katsuki says as he points at the other blond, “and I’m going back to my dorm,” he tells the pink-haired girl.

    Mina blinks again at Katsuki putting his chair back. “Why are you going back to your dorm? Did something happen? Ooh, did you leave the stove on?”

    “I didn’t leave the stove on, idiot,” Katsuki grumbles.

    “Are you returning to your beloved Midoriya?” Shouto asks with another one of his stupid fucking smiles, the ones that make Katsuki want to commit arson.

    But Shouto’s actually right on the money this time, even though Katsuki knows his implications are far, far off, so Katsuki simply shrugs and throws down the yen for the udon. “Bye.”

    “Bye!” Eijirou is the only one who’s either not-shocked enough (compared to Mina and Denki) and amicable enough (compared to Shouto) to say his farewells. “Oh and uh, tell Midoriya 'Merry Christmas’ for me, okay?”

    “Whatever,” grunts Katsuki as he kicks through the door and treks home.

He sees Izuku crouching next to their door, knees to his chest, as he regularly blows hot air onto his fingertips. He’s shaking, obviously, and that thick knitted scarf is hugging his cheeks like a miniature blanket. Izuku’s hair isn’t covered by a hat this time, so all the curls are sticking out like a tiny bloom.

    The hallways are dark, which is rare for UA dorm buildings, but it is Christmas eve. The staff probably went home or something, leaving most of the building dimmed with little signs of light emitting from anywhere. The only exceptions are a dying chandelier a fair span away, the sliver of light coming from underneath nearby dorm doors, and Izuku’s phone screen. It’s bright and white, casting an artificial glow on Izuku’s facial features.

    “Deku,” Katsuki calls out, and Izuku’s head turns immediately at his roommate’s voice. “You really are lame, you stupid nerd.”

    “Kacchan!” Izuku cries out, quickly standing, but the freezing temperatures don’t affect the warmest smile on his face. His teeth are chattering, but like, duh. The guy’s got no cold resistance.

    Katsuki feels his heart swell a little, but it’s probably because of Izuku being an idiot again. That’s happening a lot lately -- his heart swelling, not Izuku being an idiot. Izuku’s always an idiot. A dumb, dorky idiot. “How long have you been waiting for me, your knight in shining fuckin’ armor?”

    Izuku laughs, and it’s quiet, slightly echoing in the chilly hallways. “I dunno, since I texted you first, I guess.”

    Katsuki gives his roommate an eye roll as he fishes for the keys in his pocket. “You’re a fucking loser, Deku.”

    “That’s mean, Kacchan,” Izuku whispers as his hands hug his arms, moving up and down in hopes of making friction. Shit, he really is trembling like a leaf. Maybe Katsuki should worry a little about his health. He could seriously get sick.

    The blond finally finds the keys and unlocks the door. Izuku dashes in like he’s diving head-first into battle. He throws himself onto his very bed and curls up there. His eyes are squeezed shut and his hands are still hopelessly gripping his biceps, but he’s got a dopey smile on his face. It’s gross. Katsuki’s heart waltzes for like a nanosecond before he tells it to stop whatever the fuck it’s doing.

    “Oh, by the way, what exactly were you doing earlier when I texted you?” Izuku asks as he watches Katsuki take off his jacket and flop onto his own bed.

    “Dinner with Half-and-half and Shitty Hair and some other extras,” Katsuki responds without another thought.

    “Kirishima-kun was there too?” Oh yeah, Katsuki forgot that Izuku already knew about Shouto. He’s pretty sure he remembers Shouto telling him about how he told Izuku about hanging out with Katsuki when Izuku asked him what he was doing for Christmas eve after Shouto asked Izuku about what he was doing for the day and all the he-saids, she-saids are fucking with Katsuki’s brain. He’s shutting them down right this instant.

    Katsuki’s lucid enough to know that he should probably avoid a conversation about Eijirou around Izuku. Eijirou said it himself -- it’d just get awkward.

    Too bad Katsuki’s a moderately impulsive asshole. “Yeah, he’s the guy who rejected you, isn’t he?”

    Izuku goes quiet. He’s stilled, too, a total 180 from his violent shivering just seconds beforehand.

    “Or maybe not,” Katsuki tacks onto the end, and for once his sentence is kind of hesitant. Dammit, he shouldn’t have said anything. He should’ve just kept his mouth quiet and pretty and let Izuku do the talking on his own time.

    “Yeah,” Izuku responds after a bit of silence. “He did.”

    The atmosphere, as expected, gets awkward as hell. Katsuki’s even feeling a little uncomfortable, which is weird because he’s never uncomfortable. The angry man can stomach any tense situation just by shouting through it. He’s done it multiple times before, so technically he can do it again now.

    No way, he’s a changed man now. Or at least he’s on the path to becoming a changed man. He’ll have to talk his way through this, like a real fucking person. “Uh, sorry.”

    Izuku makes this quiet little “hmm?” sound that’s easily missable, but Katsuki catches it in time. He sits up, “why are you saying sorry?”

    “For, uh, forcing that out of you or whatever.”

    “Kacchan, are you saying sorry to me? Like, for real?” Izuku seems less focused on the fact that Katsuki knows he likes men and more focused on the fact that Katsuki’s apologetic for the first time in like, ever.

    He’s never said sorry before? Alright, he’s starting to see why he irks people so much. He won’t even say a fucking sorry when he’s in the wrong. It’s a good thing he’s trying to grow, or else who knows how much longer he’d be embarrassing himself? “I guess I fucking am, nerd.”

    Izuku giggles. It’s a little anxious, but he doesn’t sound scared. “It’s okay, it’s not a huge deal anyway. I guess your comment just threw me off a bit since we’ve never talked about, well, that .”

    “That, as in Shitty Hair rejecting you?” Katsuki asks.

    “Yeah. That,” Izuku responds with a sigh. “It’s not even that important, it’s just kind of weird now to see Kirishima-kun, knowing that he doesn’t like me in that way...”

    Izuku falls back onto his mattress. He also takes Katsuki’s blanket, which is still there for some reason, and plays with the fluffy fabric. “I think both of us are kind of awkward about the whole thing? It’s not like we don’t like each other anymore as friends. We’re still close, I guess... Uh, maybe not? I dunno, we haven’t really talked in a while. And I’m kind of a coward, so I don’t want to initiate a conversation with him if it makes him feel uneasy. And I think he still feels bad about rejecting me, even though he shouldn’t because he shouldn’t feel bad about his feelings, but--”

    “Deku, I’m going to be completely honest with you,” Katsuki interrupts with a hand up, “I don’t care about any of that shit.”

    “Oh sorry, I was rambling again,” Izuku says before hiding his face in Katsuki’s throw blanket. Katsuki should probably remind him someday that that’s not his. Izuku’s likely forgotten already just by how often he uses it. “I haven’t actually talked about this to anyone in months, so I kinda just info-dumped on you for a minute.”

    “Do you still like him?” questions Katsuki as an eyebrow climbs up his forehead.

    Izuku shrugs. “Kinda.”

    “ Kinda? ”

    “I’ve liked him for a long time, okay?” squeaks Izuku as he buries his face further into the blanket. “I’ve liked him since like, high school...”

    Damn, that’s rough. That’s real rough, actually. To have such a long-lasting crush on a guy who’s both intellectually lacking and straight... Life can’t get any more shit than that.

    “Is he your type or something?”

    “Huh?”

    “I said, is he your type or something.”

    Izuku’s face is red. Katsuki can see it peeking out from the side of the blanket, where it hasn’t quite covered his skin. “Um, I don’t really have a type, I think. I just... well, kind of like people at random.”

    “At random? ” Katsuki reiterates, but he sort of feels the same way. Katsuki’s never had a type before, and he’s pretty sure he never will have a type in the future. He’ll just end up liking some non-specific Joe Blow on the street, given his track record with crushes.

    Izuku looks up from the blanket. “Why are you even asking me this?” His green eyes observe Katsuki carefully, like he’s an animal in the wild.

    Wait, yeah, why is Katsuki asking Izuku this?

    “Who fuckin’ knows,” he retorts immediately as he flips sides and stares at his wall, cutting off the conversation just like that. That sure was strange. Did he and Izuku just have a previously-thought-impossible heart-to-heart?

    And speaking of heart-to-hearts, Katsuki’s own thumping heart sure is occupying his thoughts right about now. Wonder why that is.

Chapter Text

It’s Christmas day, and Katsuki wakes up to a present on his bed. It’s not on him, thank fuck, because if he shifted in his sleep then that would’ve been the end of that gift. It’s seated at the end of the mattress, just past his feet, and it’s wrapped in pretty gold wrapping paper.

    No doubt it’s from Izuku; Katsuki would probably fear for his life if it were from anyone else. The tape on top says Izuku’s full name (“Midoriya Izuku”, which Katsuki really cannot process as a real name anymore after he’s called him “Deku” for so long), but Katsuki lightly shakes the box anyway, just to make sure it’s not a bomb or something. Hey, he’s wronged him in the past -- better safe than sorry.

    Katsuki holds the box up to his ear before realizing just how fucking stupid he looks. Izuku would never plant a bomb in a fucking box. He probably doesn’t even know how to get a bomb in the first place. Katsuki doesn’t either, so Izuku would be even less likely to want to blow someone up, even if it’s the angriest man in existence.

    Okay, so Katsuki has never really gotten a Christmas gift before. His parents don’t really do that shit, and he personally doesn’t indulge in it either. Shouto, despite being a rich-ass bitch, has never given Katsuki a gift ever, let alone on holidays. He thinks Tenya might’ve given him something, but it was something so goddamn practical he’d already forgotten what it was because it held zero sentimental value.

    So Katsuki really has no idea how to accept a present. Does he open it immediately? Does he wait until Izuku comes back so he can watch Katsuki open it? Or is that stupid as hell? That’s probably stupid as hell. Katsuki stops overthinking and tears through the paper, completely disregarding how nice it looks. It does look very nice. Anyway, it’s going down.

    The present itself is pretty small, about the size of Katsuki’s hand, and it’s sort of heavy. It weighs down on Katsuki’s palm. Carefully, he opens the box and takes out his gift.

    It’s a watch. Izuku bought him a whole fucking watch. Katsuki can’t tell if it’s real gold or anything -- he doesn’t really care about authenticity so he’s never bothered to distinguish between fake and real -- but it sure looks dope as fuck. It’s detailed nicely, with the clock in the middle ticking silently. Izuku even went out of his way to adjust the time, so Katsuki doesn’t have to do it himself.

    Katsuki slips it on his wrist. It’s a little loose, but he didn’t expect Izuku to know his wrist size. He’s actually glad it’s not perfect, because then that would just be fucking weird.

    He sits on the edge of his bed in silence, staring at his watch, before the realization hits him like a brick to the head.

    Izuku just bought him a whole. Fucking. Watch.

    With his money, which he can’t assume is a lot since he’s a fucking college student.

    And he didn’t even ask for anything back.

    What the fuck? What the fuck? Is Katsuki living with an actual goddamn saint? How is it even legal for a roommate to be this fucking nice to a total asshat like Katsuki, and then expect nothing in return? He has a new watch now and it’s all thanks to Izuku’s eternal selflessness. God dammit, he doesn’t have to pull out his phone anymore. He can just look at his wrist. At the watch. That Izuku gave him.

    Izuku gave him a fucking watch.

    Suddenly, Katsuki feels like the lamest bastard in the entire galaxy. He doesn’t have anything for his roommate. He hasn’t had anything for his roommate the entire time they’ve been living together. It’s always been slight jabs and insults at Izuku, and taking up Izuku’s time by talking about random shit Katsuki’s upset about. He’s never really given Izuku anything, except maybe dinner or something, but that’s not a burden on Katsuki at all. He likes cooking.

    It’s fucking Christmas and he doesn’t have a damn thing for Izuku. This is the season of fucking giving, and he’s being the most selfish, closed-off idiot ever.

    He checks his phone and sees that Izuku will be out for the day; they technically don’t have classes, but Izuku’s meeting up with a professor and doing supplementary work. He won’t be back until around six, and it’s noon now, so Katsuki has to move fast if he’s going to surprise Izuku back with a present of his own.

    The blond leaps out of bed, changes into a decent enough outfit, and dashes out the door with Izuku’s watch on his right wrist.

“Shitty hair, I need your help.”

    The himbo on the other end laughs heartily. “I never thought I’d ever hear Bakugou asking for my help! This is a dream come true, man!”

    “ I’m not joking around, help me, ” Katsuki says through clenched teeth as he strolls through downtown. He’s window shopping, obviously, because he doesn’t have the time to order something and have it shipped in one day. He also doesn’t have the time to make anything as useful and genuinely well-crafted as that fucking watch, so he’s a little desperate. “You said you owe me.”

    “I do! You know, after that dinner last night, Ashido asked if we could hang out more after winter break, and--”

    “I don’t fucking care. I mean, congrats or whatever, but I don’t care.”

    Eijirou laughs again. “Yeah, sounds about right. What’s up?”

    Katsuki knows he’s playing with fire for asking Eijirou of all people for Izuku-gift-help, but who else can he fucking ask? He’s not asking Ochako, for obvious reasons, he thinks, and Shouto’s probably just going to poke fun at Katsuki’s incompetence without actually giving him any real assistance. He remembers Denki being friends with Izuku for some reason, but he doesn’t have Denki’s number and he’s frankly cool with that.

    Eijirou is nice, and he’s honest, almost a little too honest, so Katsuki isn’t afraid of him giving the blond any wrong information. And he knows the guy’s got a heart of gold, so he’ll end up helping just because he cares about Izuku. He may be a little shifty about Izuku talk, but he’ll come around eventually, Katsuki’s sure.

    “I’m last-minute getting Deku a present. What should I get him.”

    The other end goes quiet. Katsuki’s not surprised, like at all, so he pressures on. “Oi, answer me.”

    A shaky chuckle comes from the speakers. “Uh, well, why would you want my help for something like that?”

    “Because you’re his fucking friend, yeah? You know him better than I do.”

    “That might not even be true, man! You live with him!”

    “ You and him share that stupid fuckin’ All Might obsession, so don’t you already know more shit about him than me?! ”

    “That’s one thing!”

    “Yeah, and like three to four more years of experience! ”

    “Wait, how did you know that me and Midoriya have known each other for like four years?”

    “I’m very fucking perceptive. Help, idiot.”

    Eijirou sighs loudly. It’s actually so loud, it crackles static through the line. “I mean, if you really want my help, I can give it to you. But I’m pretty sure Uraraka knows him better than me. He and I are just high school friends.”

    “I am not asking Round Face for shit. She’ll end up thinking we’re friends or something,” Katsuki retorts as he peers through one of the store windows. They’re selling clothes -- nice clothes, might Katsuki add -- that would probably fit Izuku’s tastes.

    “Aren’t you friends?” asks Eijirou.

    “Never fucking agreed to being friends with her.”

    “So you are,” Eijirou concludes.

    Katsuki grimaces. “I hate you guys.”

    “Well, since I owe you,” says the redhead with a hint of resignation in his voice, “I guess I’ll help you out. What do you wanna know?”

    Katsuki rolls his eyes, “ everything, I guess. I only know that he likes that stupid anime and those really niche JRPGs that I’ve never fucking heard of. Oh, and that stupid band that he apparently listens to.”

    “ League of Villains! ” Eijirou replies instantaneously with a smile tugging on his words. “They’re good! You should give them a listen sometime.”

    “Their band name sounds really dumb,” Katsuki growls as he passes another store window, this time selling toys clearly made for children. Yeah no, he knows Izuku’s a lot less jaded than him, but he’s not resorting to children toys.

    “Yeah, they’re kinda wanna-be emo, but the songs are top-tier. They’ve got a really nice sound mix between guitars and drums, and even a bit of violin somewhere. And they have a couple songs that actually tackle the power dynamic in society--”

    “I am not listening to their dumbfuck music,” Katsuki says, finalizing this stupid arguement he didn’t sign up for on Christmas day, of all days.

    Eijirou laughs again; it seems the previous tension about helping Katsuki about Izuku business has subsided. Who knew that shit can be solved just by talking? The world is so fucking weird that way.

    Anyway, Katsuki brings the phone closer to his ear when a car revs its engine nearby. “What else does Deku like?”

    “Well, let’s see... He likes superhero movies, and katsudon,” Eijirou says, and Katsuki can practically hear the processor in his brain firing helplessly to keep thoughts moving. “Oh, and he likes analyzing movies and TV shows and just media in general. He especially likes learning about the actors and stuff. He’s such a nerd.”

    “Damn right he is,” Katsuki responds. The mumbling Izuku does every time they happen to see each other is practically imprinted into his brainstem at this point.

    “What exactly are you looking for, man?” asks Eijirou suddenly. “Midoriya’s got plenty of interests, but what are you planning on getting him with this information?”

    “I don’t fucking know yet, but I’m getting him a present that’ll beat the present he got me.”

    “What did he get you?”

    “A whole watch.”

    “Whoa, that’s awesome,” Eijirou says with a laugh. “He got me an All Might poster with one of the voice actors’ signatures. He, uh, left it at my door this morning.”

    So Izuku’s so fucking nice, he’ll even bypass current awkward relations just to give people presents? Well, it might just be because he still likes Eijirou, and they’re friends, and you know what? That doesn’t sound completely weird after Katsuki thinks about it a little more. Actually, it makes a thousand times more sense than Izuku buying him a fucking watch. That makes no sense.

    “Well, you could either buy him something that’s super expensive,” Eijirou continues, “or something priceless. Knowing Midoriya, he’d probably like the second choice better. He’s never really been all that materialistic.”

    “And yet he threw his money for a watch? ” Katsuki is really never going to get over this watch.

    Eijirou hums faintly, “he likes spending money for other people, I guess.”

    “Fuckin’ angel.”

    “What was that?”

    Katsuki clears his throat. “Freaking hair gel.”

    “ Huh? ”

    “ Don’t worry about it, ” Katsuki says quickly, mentally kicking himself in the fucking shins for even saying something so embarrassing, or even thinking something so embarrassing. He’ll never tell Izuku this. Never, ever.

    Well anyway, Katsuki has to think about something priceless to get Izuku. He guesses he could make katsudon for like the next twenty bajillion years, but that’ll probably get old fast. Besides, katsudon’s fatty, so it would just be bad for Izuku’s health in the long run.

    Maybe he can get something both pricey and meaningful, so it can really knock Izuku off his feet. And then Katsuki really will be the best roommate ever, as Izuku put it the night before.

    “Shitty Hair, I think I have an idea.”

    “Good for you, man!” Eijirou responds enthusiastically. “Good luck!”

    “Don’t need luck,” Katsuki grunts in reply before hanging up and returning to his dorm.

Izuku returns to their room at six-thirty, snowflakes stuck in his hair and nose as red as fucking Rudolph’s. It’s a sight. Not for sore eyes or anything, it’s just a sight.

    “Hi Kacchan,” he greets Katsuki as he slinks over to his bed. “Merry Christmas.”

    “Yeah,” Katsuki replies shortly, looking up quickly from his laptop. The guy’s seriously covered in snow. And he knows he can shake all that off, but he just doesn’t. Katsuki doesn’t know if he likes that or not, because Izuku’s hair looks like a fucking tree.

    Izuku looks over before his eyes brighten like Christmas lights. “You’re wearing the watch!”

    “Oh yeah,” and Katsuki suddenly feels really self-conscious. He knows Izuku looks at him -- he has to, they live together -- but now he’s really looking, like, looking-looking. “Um, thanks. It’s nice.”

    Izuku only grins wider. “No problem! I didn’t really know what you wanted for Christmas, because I’m not really sure what you like, since we don’t really talk about, well, you. But you have a really nice sense of style, so I thought I’d buy something to match that! And I don’t really know what kind of clothes you like, so I ended up buying you a watch. I hope that’s okay! I’ve never seen you wear one before...”

    His sentence tapers out at the end as he averts his gaze bashfully. “Anyway, I hope you like it.”

    “I like it,” says Katsuki before his brain even tells him to shut up.

    “Oh, good!” says Izuku with another one of his dorky smiles. The freckles on his face make way for his grin, and it’s kind of nice, the way his face moves. What the fuck did my brain just say?

    Katsuki doesn’t give that thought much time to marinate when he turns his laptop around so Izuku can see the screen. “Get over here, nerd.”

    His roommate pads over like a cat. “Why?”

    “It’s your present.”

    “My present?” Izuku asks before gasping and waving his hands around like he’s dispelling ghosts or some shit. “W-Wait, Kacchan! You don’t have to give me a gift or anything! I gave you one because I wanted to, not because I expected anything--”

    “Do you want to look at your fucking present or not?” Katsuki asks, deadpan.

    Izuku flushes a bright red. “Well, if you already bought it, I guess I’d feel worse if I didn’t...”

    Katsuki moves the screen closer, and Izuku shifts so their heads are right beside each other. Aside from carrying each other to the shower as a last resort, Katsuki doesn’t think he’s been this close to his roommate. Their sides are almost touching.

    He waits for a couple seconds for Izuku to process what he’s seeing. He also covers his ears in preparation for the screaming that’s going to happen. Which is right now. Izuku is screaming right now, in close proximity to Katsuki, and if Katsuki didn’t mute the sound he’d probably lose his hearing for a day.

    “You-- You bought-- Oh my God, you bought HydroiCon tickets?! ” Izuku squeals, his voice jumping multiple octaves. He’s grabbing the sides of his head like if he doesn’t, it’ll fall straight off. “How did you know I’ve been wanting to go to HydroiCon?!”

    “You say it in your fucking sleep,” Katsuki retorts with a growl. “It’s annoying.”

    “But the tickets are so expensive! And you bought two?!”

    “Yeah. One for you and one for some other unfortunate loser who loves All Might as much as you so you two can both nerd over the actors.”

    “You-- wait, what?! ”

    “There’s a fuckin’ meet-and-greet there with the actors or some shit.”

    “ There’s a WHAT?! ”

    “ You didn’t know that?! ” Katsuki yells, realizing that they’re practically shouting at each other, since Izuku’s voice just keeps getting louder and louder with each sentence. And Katsuki’s main volume level is loud, so their shouting match was only a matter of time.

    Izuku runs his fingers through his hair (which is kinda soppy now, since he didn’t get rid of the snow earlier) and takes a deep, deep breath. “No, Kacchan, I didn’t know that there would be a FREAKING ALL MIGHT MEET-AND-GREET AT THIS YEAR’S HYDROICON! ”

    Katsuki shoves the laptop in his roommate’s arms. “Then take a good fucking look, nerd, because I’m not telling you this shit twice.”

    His green eyes scan the screen, darting left and right like a maniac. “No way... You bought the tickets online... For me... To go to HydroiCon... You even bought a pass to the actor’s panel and booth...” Izuku looks up and his face is burning, freckles accenting like raspberry seeds. “This is way too much for me! Kacchan, you really didn’t have to--”

    “Wasn’t going to,” Katsuki interrupts, but secretly he’s pretty proud of himself for one-upping his roommate this hard. He’s a little upset in himself as well for resorting to All Might content of all things, because it basically shows how little Katsuki knows of Izuku, but at the same time All Might is probably his biggest obsession so it worked out at the end.

    “Then why did you?” asks his green-haired roommate shyly. Half of his face hides behind the laptop lid.

    “Because you got me this goddamn watch,” the blond says with a resolute point to his wrist. “Felt bad about taking it without paying you back.”

    Izuku blinks before laughing. “ That’s why? Kacchan, I really didn’t go out of my way to buy you that. It wasn’t that big of a purchase for me.”

    “Deku, this is a fucking watch. You goddamn know how expensive they can get.”

    “Yeah, but--”

    “No buts, nerd. Take the tickets or leave them.”

    “I’m taking them!” Izuku exclaims quickly, instinctually hugging the open laptop closer to his chest, like the tickets are fucking physical or some shit. “I’m taking the tickets, Kacchan! You can’t take them back from me!”

    Katsuki can feel the itch to roll his eyes at his dorky-ass roommate, because why the fuck would he want tickets to an All Might meet-and-greet if he doesn’t even watch the fucking anime, but he doesn’t do that. Instead he hums a “you’re welcome” under his breath, pleased to see Izuku so excited about something so dumb.

Deku

---

Hi Kacchan! (=^▽^=)
Can I ask you something really important?

---

---

Aren’t you supposed to be in class

---

---

I have ten minutes.
I’ll make it quick!
∩(´∀｀∩)

---

---

Okay then
What is it Deku

---

---

Do you want to go to HydroiCon with me? ( •⌄• ू )✧

---

---

Why would I go to some dumbass all might meet and greet
I don’t even watch that thing

---

---

It’s not just that!!! (∗∕ ∕•̥̥̥̥∕ω∕•̥̥̥̥∕)
HydroiCon is still, at its core, a con
You can go see booths full of amazing fan artists and cosplayers and also potentially meet some friends!
There’s also scheduled panels for other things, like cosplay groups and other shows/movies/etc. related content!
And they have a really nice food court if you’re only interested in the food (´-ω-`)

---

---

Never been to a con before

---

---

Whoa, really?
Actually, I’m not surprised LOL
You don’t seem like the type. |´∀｀●)

---

---

The HELL is that supposed to mean

---

---

Nothing!!!
Just saying, hehe

---

---

Why don’t you go with shitty hair

---

---

I don’t think he’d like to go with me... (/□＼*)・゜
We haven’t really gone anywhere together after that thing.
Even if I kind of like him still, I think it would just be really awkward.
And I don’t really have any other friends who like All Might or even cons in general

---

---

And what makes you think I do

---

---

Nothing, I guess
I just thought maybe you’d like to come along.
But if you don’t want to, that’s fine!
I can always try finding someone else
_(」∠ ､ﾝ､)_

---

---

Fuck no
I’ll go

---

---

YAY!!! ───==≡≡ΣΣ(っ´▽｀)っ
Don’t worry, I won’t force you to stick with me the whole time
You can go off and do your own thing!  o(*^▽^*)o

---

---

I’ll probably just stay in the food court or something

---

---

If that’s what makes you happy!
Thank you so much Kacchan!!! ((o(´∀｀)o))
Really, you have no idea how happy this makes me.
You bought me these super expensive tickets to one of the greatest moments of my life!!!
So I’m really glad you’re joining me! ヾ(^ ^ゞ

---

---

Yeah
Okay go to class

---

---

Okay
Bye Kacchan! (-^〇^-)

---

---

Bye

---

Icy Hot

---

Midoriya told me you’re accompanying him to a con.
That’s impossible. Why are you lying to him.

---

---

I’M NOT LYING
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU

---

---

You’ve never gone to a con before.
And you’ve said before, and I quote, “I’m never going to some nerdy shitfest full of fucking losers who still live in their parent’s goddamn basement”.

---

---

Yeah like two years ago

---

---

So your mentality has changed in these last two years?
Somehow, I really question the validity of that statement.

---

---

1. I no longer think that living in your parents’ basement is bad anymore I only thought that because my parents made it sound like the worst fucking fate in the world
2. Cons are fine

---

---

Impossible.

---

---

I don’t fucking care what YOU think

---

---

“Cons are fine”
Really?
Do you really think that, Bakugou?
Has your Bakuperception changed that much?

---

---

I swear to FUCKING GOD if you use another one of those stupid Bakusomethings I will snap your legs back SO HARD you will no longer be able to FUCKING WALK

---

---

My Bakuapologies.
Or should I say, Todoapologies.

---

---

I will end you

---

---

But in all seriousness, I’m just a little surprised that you’re caring about Midoriya this much.
You know he can go to cons himself, right?
He’s a college student, not a ten year old.
He doesn’t need your supervision.

---

---

I’m not being his supervisor jesus
I bought him two tickets so he’s not gonna just waste one
Wait
Why didn’t you go with him if you hate the thought of me going so much

---

---

I’m busy that weekend.
I also don’t care much for cons personally.
I’ve never watched that All Might anime; I don’t watch anime that much in general.
I feel like I’d be very out-of-place.
Which, by the way, would probably be your case, too.

---

---

Whatever
I’m not even gonna follow him around probably

---

---

You’ll probably be miserable, then.
It really is shocking how much you’re willing to do for Midoriya.
He asked you of all people to join him to a CON.
You, the annoying, dastardly roommate who isn’t even one of his closest friends.
And you still agreed.
It’s almost like you have a crush on him. You sound so whipped.

---

---

Fuck off icy hot

---

WAIT
CRUSH???
WHIPPED??????

---

---

Oh boy.
Well, since you’re likely figuring it out by now, I feel like I should probably say this: Midoriya more or less asked you out on a date in his own nerdy way.
Okay, have fun with your feelings.

---

Katsuki does not have a crush on Izuku.

    That’s not happening. In no world, in no galaxy, in no universe, does Katsuki have these lovey-dovey feelings for Izuku of all people. He’d get it if it were someone super hot or super rich or whatever the fuck, but Midoriya Izuku? The most ordinary man Katsuki has ever met in his twenty years of existence?

    Izuku isn’t a bad person. Far from it -- Izuku is the nicest person Katsuki knows. It’s just that... what the fuck?!

    Katsuki always thought that, if he were to ever fall for someone, they’d be just as abnormal as him. They’d probably be just as emotionally charged, as strange, and probably as angry as him, too. After all, Katsuki’s not interested in people who can’t keep up with him. If they can’t, then what’s even the point of dating them? He’ll just feel dragged down the entire time, and that’s the last thing Katsuki wants.

    Besides, Katsuki hasn’t liked anyone in years. Maybe he’s had one or two stranger crushes, but that’s it. He’s never seen himself dating anyone in the future. He’s honestly perfectly fine with dying alone; at least he won’t be bothered during his last moments.

    He’s way too old for puppy love. He’s fucking twenty. He’s an adult. Crushes are such a high school thing. Katsuki is not going to act like a fucking high schooler again, confessing to some idiot and then getting so painfully rejected, he’s still reeling from the aftermath years later. He’s learned his lesson: he’s not worth loving. That’s just how it is.

    So no way, he does not like Izuku. He does not have those shitty feelings for anyone and he won’t start now. Izuku is just his roommate, a nice, friendly, dorky, sometimes sarcastic, super nerdy, but overall accepting and understanding and optimistic guy who is sorta cute with his unkempt hair and his freckles and his stupid fucking smile that could light up galaxies.

    And then Katsuki screams so fucking hard into his pillow, he just about loses his goddamn voice.

Icy Hot

---

I need your help
Help me
Half and half
HELP
ME
TODOROKI SHOUTO

---

---

What?
Jeez, I’m in the middle of watching a movie with Iida.

---

---

God that is so fucking disgusting
You two are so domestic it physically pains me
Anyway
HELP ME

---

---

Well, I can tell it’s important since you used my real name.
What is it?

---

---

Do not laugh

---

---

I can’t promise that.

---

---

BITCH, DO NOT LAUGH

---

---

Okay, fine.
Tell me.

---

---

Okay
Just
OKEI.
OKAY OKAY OKAY UM
HUUHHFHFGFGSH

---

---

What the fuck?
Bakugou, are you okay?
You sound like you’re dying.
Or having a stroke.

---

---

I think I might like Deku

---

---

Iida owes me ten dollars.
I knew it.
(I didn’t laugh.)

---

---

YOU WHAT.
BITCH
I HATE YOU
YOU’RE THE FUCKING WORST
FRIENDSHIP OVER
I’VE DEALT WITH YOUR SHIT FOR WAY TOO LONG
I’LL KILL YOU HALF AND HALF BASTARD
HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN
AND KEPT THAT FROM ME
YOU FUCKING JERK
I WILL LITERALLY END YOUR FUCKING LIFE

---

---

Calm down.
I’ve always had a hunch, especially after Midoriya started telling me that you’ve gotten nicer.
Bakugou, you are never nice.
And especially to the level of niceness you got with Midoriya, I couldn’t NOT be suspicious.

---

---

WHAT THE FUCK

---

---

Niceness does not run in your blood.

---

---

Well yeah I FUCKING KNOW THAT
BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN I LIKE ANYONE I’M NICE TO

---

---

You were nice to that guy back in high school.
It was really gross. I especially did not like that.

---

---

YOU
YOU KNEW THAT???
AND YOU DIDN’T FUCKING TELL ME.
I REALLY, REALLY HATE YOU

---

---

Why would I tell you that?

---

---

I DON’T FUCKING KNOW BUT YOU BETRAYED ME
WE ARE NO LONGER FRIENDS

---

---

You don’t mean that.
Anyway, why are you freaking out so much over liking Midoriya?
He’s a very likeable guy.

---

---

Why the fuck would I like someone like DEKU
I call him Deku for a fucking reason

---

---

Yeah, a bad reason.

---

---

I’ve been living with him for fucking MONTHS NOW and the entire time I’ve reinforced in my brain that he’s so fucking average and plain and not at all interesting in the fucking SLIGHTEST because he looks so boring and why the fuck would I end up liking such a boring face he doesn’t even bother to change the way he looks or dress up or anything like that what the hell is up with THAT
EXPLAIN, HALF AND HALF

---

---

That sounds like a you problem.
I’ve never seen Midoriya as plain.
Sure, he may have a relatively ordinary face, but that’s not a bad thing at all.
His personality makes up for that, even if it were considered a bad thing.
And why would I know how your emotions work?

---

---

Right
You don’t even know how your own emotions work

---

---

I feel like I know them better than you know yours.

---

---

Shut the fuck up
What do I do
Help me

---

---

What do you do about what?
Liking Midoriya?

---

---

IF I like Deku

---

---

Tell him, I guess.
Or not, it’s really up to you.
I’m not just going to tell you how to deal with your crush. That’s not my problem.

---

---

You are FUCKING useless

---

---

Thanks, Bakugou.

---

---

He doesn’t even like me
He likes shitty hair or something

---

---

Eh.
A little.

---

---

The fuck do you mean A LITTLE

---

---

He used to like him a lot more when they were in high school.
I think he only confessed to him during the summer because he thought maybe he’d have a chance.
He told me that he’s trying really hard to get over him because he’s straight and there’s no hope anyway.
Oh, I probably shouldn’t have said that to you.
Oops.
Maybe I should delete these messages.

---

---

Then fucking delete them

---

---

Okay.
You should too.

---

---

K

---

---

Did you?

---

---

No

---

---

Yeah, I thought as much.
Anyway, you won’t tell him you like him because he still likes Kirishima?

---

---

I said IF you idiot
Do you fucking have selective hearing

---

---

No, I can read your messages perfectly, and I know your implications.
You like him, but you’re in some pretty serious denial.
Unless you get over your feelings and be more honest with yourself, you’ll never realize how much you really like him.
Or something.
That’s what Uraraka told me once.

---

---

Fuck her
Her advice is shit

---

---

No it’s not.

---

---

Okay maybe it’s not total shit

---

---

Good luck with your Bakufeelings, Bakugou.

---

Katsuki is all alone for the winter break. He didn’t go back home, because why would he go back home, but most of his friends aren’t available. Even Izuku went home, so Katsuki’s solo in his dorm, looking at his watch as the second hand ticks monotonously.

    He’s stuck with the striking realization that he might like Izuku, but he can’t talk about it. He’s tried with Shouto, but Shouto makes him sound like a fucking numbskull. And damn, that shit hurt when it came from another emotionally inept person like Half-and-half. Then again, Shouto managed to get the man of his dreams, so maybe Katsuki should actually listen to him...

    Fuck no, Katsuki’s not doing shit for Shouto. He’s not gonna listen to him, he’s not gonna take his advice, fuck no. Shouto’s not getting more of his ego fed; he’s already got a higher-than-thou attitude, he doesn’t need to be more higher-than-thou. And Katsuki knows this, because Katsuki’s like that too. Birds of a feather flock together (unfortunately).

    At that, Katsuki hears a knocking at his door. He jolts up and swings open the entrance, because a tiny, tiny part of his brain hopes that it’s Izuku. No, he won’t admit it out loud. No, he won’t even say it with his last dying breath.

    It’s not Izuku. It’s that dumbass with the blond hair and yellow cat eyes, smiling coyly back at him. “Oh hey, it’s Bakugou!”

    Katsuki’s extremely tempted to slam the door in his face, but he’s trying to be nicer, so he doesn’t. Instead he gives a disappointed grumble. “What the hell do you want.”

    “I was going to give something to Midoriya,” Denki replies, holding up a bag. “Is he here?”

    “No,” Katsuki responds shortly. And Katsuki isn’t happy about that either, but whatever. Life is hard or some shit. “Go away.”

    “Will he be returning soon?” Denki asks as he invites himself in like he’s Katsuki’s roommate. He looks around before taking a seat on Katsuki’s bed, like it fucking belongs to him. Who the fuck does he think he is.

    Katsuki kicks the door open wider and gestures to it. “He went home for the break. Get the fuck out of here.”

    Denki pouts, and Katsuki silently thinks that the pout is different from Izuku’s. Denki’s face isn’t as round as Izuku’s, so the cheeks don’t puff out in the classically Izuku way. And his eyes aren’t as big, so they don’t look nearly as expressive with each new emotion. And God fucking dammit, now Katsuki misses Izuku even more, like that’s even possible. “Alright then... Can you give this to him when he comes back?”

    Denki holds out the bag expectantly. Katsuki pinches the nose bridge between his eyes before snatching it from the guy and tossing it onto Izuku’s bed. “Fucking whatever. Now leave.”

    “Well, you’re a lot crankier than I remember,” says the other blond with a confused smile. “What’s got you so pissy?”

    “None of your fucking business,” is Katsuki’s go-to response.

    “I guess it isn’t, but I bet I can guess.”

    “Guess all you fucking want.”

    “You like Midoriya, right?”

    It’s so simple. Denki’s looking at him like there’s nothing fucking wrong about it, like he’s expected it this whole time. His face is blank, eyes staring into Katsuki’s psyche like he’s a fucking mind-reader. And his expression is completely unreadable. Or maybe Katsuki doesn’t want to read it because he’s too busy shouting--

    “What the fuck are you fucking saying to me, you fucking fucker?! Do you want to fucking die?! ” Katsuki is yelling right in Denki’s face, grabbing a fistfull of the guy’s sweater and yanking him up like he weighs nothing. And he probably doesn’t, because Katsuki. Can. Bench. 200.

    “Am I wrong?” Denki asks with a shaky laugh, holding his hands up like he’s been caught for a committed felony.

    “You-- Well-- ” Katsuki doesn’t want to just fucking come out and say it, but he’s also been fumbling over this whole realization for at least a day now, and he thinks he’s going to lose his goddamn mind if he keeps it to himself any longer.

    So he sighs loudly and drops the guy instantaneously. “No, I think. Or something. Fuck, I don’t fucking know.”

    Denki’s mouth stretches into a satisfied smile as all the energy seeps back into his face. “Dude, I knew it! You’ll do anything for Midoriya! You cook for him and you apparently save him from dying of hypothermia--”

    “ How the fuck do you know about that one?! ”

    “--Midoriya told me -- and you’re all grumpy now that Midoriya’s gone!” Denki finishes with two finger guns. “Dude, you have it bad.”

    “You can shut the hell up now,” Katsuki retorts, but his own face is hot. His cheeks feel like they can burn through metal. Actually, he thinks his entire head might explode at any minute now. It’s this overwhelming pressure due to embarrassment and Katsuki hasn’t felt this way in years. In fact, he might never have felt this way about anything or anyone.

    Denki shakes his head knowingly, “hey man, it’s totally okay to have a crush on Midoriya. He’s like, one of the best guys in the world.”

    “Shit, then you date him,” Katsuki says before stopping himself.

    “Why would you even say that if you like him?”

    “I said I don’t fucking know, you imbecile.”

    “No, I think you like him.”

    “Go die.”

    “Bakugou, I really mean it when I say this,” Denki sighs as he puts his palms together and aims them at Katsuki’s chest, “but you’re so whipped for that guy.”

    That’s what Shouto said, too. Fuck, is he really that obvious? Does he really like Izuku that much, both Shouto and Denki (who by the way, Katsuki barely knows up until this moment) could figure it out just by using their brains for five seconds? And how could they be so resolute about their conclusions when Katsuki hasn’t even realized it himself?

    Goddammit, is Katsuki really this dense about his own feelings? Can he really not perceive romantic attraction at all? He’s lived with Izuku this entire time, knows his highs and lows like the back of his hand, has cooked him whole-ass dinners and has waited for him before he slept for the night, and he’s still hesitant about his feelings?

    Shit. Maybe Katsuki really will have to admit defeat against Shouto. This fucking sucks ass.

    “Are you gonna tell him?” Katsuki hears Denki’s question as it slices through his thoughts like a knife.

    “Hell no, and you better not say shit either,” Katsuki says affirmatively before pulling on Denki’s arm so hard, he thinks he might’ve dislodged it. Judging by Denki’s cry in pain, Katsuki might be right on that one. “Now I said, get the fuck out of my fucking dorm or I’ll kill you.”

    He shoves Denki out, ignoring his pleas, and shuts the door with a bang. He then turns around and slides down the surface until his knees are up and his ass is down.

    What the fuck is Katsuki going to do about this? Fucking Christ, romance is stupid as all hell. He might as well lobotomize his feelings so he’ll never see Izuku in that mushy gushy way ever again. Not like he ever has. Or will. Or anything like that. Because he hasn’t. And never will.

    It’s not like he’s secretly had dreams about living with Izuku in the future, or about going on dates with his plain face, or staying up late to watch the stars, or wake up early to count the freckles on his ordinary cheeks and wonder if there’s more in other places. At that, Katsuki groans into his hands and wishes he were dead. 

    Okay.

    Fine.

Katsuki really does have it bad.

But Izuku never has to know.

So it turns out that both Denki and Mina are staying on campus for the break, for reasons Katsuki doesn’t know and doesn’t care about.

    And for some stupid fucking reason that Katsuki doesn’t know but super cares about, the two are hanging out in Katsuki’s dorm like they also live there. Like it’s just fucking normal to barge into a barely-friend’s room and stay there for four hours now. Katsuki has been counting on his new watch. It’s been four hours.

    Katsuki can’t do this. He already doesn’t fare well with social interaction, because he’s practically a roll of dynamite just waiting to be lit, but he also doesn’t even know them that well. They’re not even his friends, really. They’re just people Katsuki happens to know because of Eijirou’s whole situation back on Christmas eve.

    Eijirou is going to get a swift kick in the nuts the next time Katsuki sees him. He’s not getting away with introducing random people to Katsuki and then expecting them to be all buddy-buddy like Katsuki just loves befriending people. The blond is no extrovert, and he’d rather be all alone with no Izuku than be stuck with two loudmouths who won’t fucking shut up about the latest episode of some crime show that Katsuki hasn’t even heard of.

    The only reason why Katsuki is staying behind is because he’s planned the night before for today to be his cleaning day. He’s been living completely alone for a couple days now, and during that time he’s been caring less and less about the cleanliness. But since he still wants it to be tidy for when Izuku comes back, he can’t afford to laze around. He doesn’t want to postpone the cleaning day for a couple losers, so he tries drowning out their noise by listening to music and sweeping where they aren’t loitering.

    He still manages to catch snippets of their conversation, like Mina screeching “but that’s not suspenseful at all! ” and Denki screeching back “but it’s logical and it works! ”, but Katsuki has no goddamn clue what they’re talking about, and he’s not going to stop his grind just to ask.

    Katsuki will, however, stop his grind for a text sent by his nerdy roommate/newly-realized crush himself.

Deku

---

Hey Kacchan! |･ω･`*)ッ

---

    Well, that’s a pleasant surprise. Katsuki decides to completely drone out all of that crime show bullshit and focus all of his attention on Izuku’s ridiculous kaomojis. He hates to admit it, but he’s kind of missed them. This is the first time Izuku texted him when he’s been on break. For reference, that’s kind of a long time with no texting. They practically text daily at this point in their cohabitation lifespan.

    He sees Izuku texting still, with the three little dots at the bottom corner of the screen. Katsuki knows that his roommate loves to text a lot and then shrink it down, or sometimes break it off into multiple texts so it’s not one large clump. By no means is he a slow typer, but the fact that he has to add the kaomojis probably makes sending messages a little sluggish.

    Katsuki doesn’t mind. He actually hasn’t minded Izuku taking the time to send a proper message in like, ever. The only time he’s ever gotten angry over an Izuku text was when he’s either left him on read or completely ignored the texts as a whole. Katsuki hates being ignored.

    Nice to not be ignored during the break, especially during a time where two idiots he’s not even close with are getting into a heated discussion about some missing body.

---

Check out this snowman I made!
[ IMAGE SENT ]
I named it Kacchan, because I gave it an angry face. What do you think? (づ￣ ³￣)づ

---

    The snowman looks standard enough -- snowmen are just three balls of snow stacked onto each other, so Katsuki’s not expecting some ice sculpture here -- with the exception of the face. It’s got two small sticks pointing down, acting as eyebrows, as a handful of rocks act as the eyes and the frown. A pine cone takes place as the nose.

    It does look pretty angry, which was probably Izuku’s whole goal, but Katsuki can’t stop thinking about how his fucking roommate just made a fucking snowman and fucking named it after him. Whether or not it was due to the goddamn face, Katsuki’s got a whole. Snowman. Named after him.

    That’s enough to keep Katsuki remotely sane and not crazy as the argument in the background swells in volume.

---

Nice snowman

---

---

Thanks! (*´ڡ`●)
I’m really proud of it!
It was kind of hard to make, and it took a lot of time, but the end result was worth it
Especially because I got to call it Kacchan!
( ᐛ )و

---

---

You’re so lame Deku

---

---

That’s not very nice, Kacchan (っ◞‸◟c)

---

---

I’m kidding
Didn’t fuckin mean it

---

---

LOL, I know
I don’t take any of your insults seriously, so don’t worry about it.
Anyway, what’s up with you?

---

---

Cleaning

---

---

Oh, then don’t let me get in the way! ( ˃̣̣̥ω˂̣̣̥ )
Have fun cleaning! 

---

---

You’re not bothering me
Two blockheads are in our dorm right now talking about some stupid crime show that I’ve never heard of
It’s driving me nuts
We’re not even friends so what the hell
And they’re so fucking loud

---

---

Who are they?
Can’t you just tell them to talk about it somewhere else?

---

---

Because they won’t fucking LEAVE
Pikachu and raccoon eyes

---

---

I’m going to guess that “Pikachu” is Kaminari-kun... ϞϞ(๑⚈ ․̫ ⚈๑)∩
Who’s “Raccoon Eyes?” (・・。)ゞ
I don’t recognize that nickname, or anyone who could match it...

---

---

Some girl shitty hair knows
Last name is ashido I think
Can’t remember her first name

---

Are you busy or something

---

---

Oh sorry, I just forgot to respond, haha
Ashido Mina, right? She’s really nice!
I can’t see the whole “raccoon eyes” thing, but I guess she does wear a lot of eye makeup.
( ・◇・)

---

---

Yeah

---

---

What show are they talking about?

---

---

Hell if I know
I’m trying to hear as little of it as possible

---

---

Fair enough!
Is it because of spoiler reasons? (」・ω・)」

---

---

No
I just don’t fucking care

---

---

Haha, that sounds like you.

---

---

Well I sure fucking hope so because I AM me

---

---

LOL
Well, if that’s all, then I’ll leave you to your cleaning.
Is there anything else you want to talk to me about? (ﾟ▽ﾟ｀*)?

---

---

Can you just stay here
I don’t want to hear them
And apparently my music isn’t fucking loud enough

---

---

I’m not busy right now, so sure!
It’s funny that you’re distracting yourself better by talking to me than by listening to your music, though, haha

---

---

Whatever

---

---

Oh, Kacchan! Did I tell you about how I managed to make a katsu sando yesterday?
I used your katsudon recipe
It works wonders! o(〃＾▽＾〃)o
It tasted really good, so thank you for that.

---

---

You’re welcome I guess
It’s not that hard to make

---

---

Yeah, but I’m not a very good chef in general.
Especially compared to you, I’m a terrible cook! ((´д｀))
So to me, this was a big accomplishment!

---

---

Congrats then

---

---

Thanks!!!
Are you eating well without me there? (⌯˃̶᷄ ﹏ ˂̶᷄⌯)ﾟ

---

---

I know how to take care of myself unlike SOME shitty nerd
So yes
I am

---

---

LOL, I guess you’ve always been better at life skills than me, so I’m not surprised.
If I’ll be honest, I haven’t been eating much since I got back.
My mom is visiting friends a lot during this break, so I’m usually home all day, all alone...
It’s lonely! ｡･ﾟﾟ･(>д<)･ﾟﾟ･｡
Kacchan, do you get lonely too?

---

---

No

---

---

Oh, really?

---

---

Okay maybe
Whatever
Not a big deal or anything
I like solitude
I MUCH PREFER IT over two GODDAMN IDIOTS talking about SOME RANDOM FUCKING SHIT that I literally CANNOT GIVE A FUCKING SHIT ABOUT but they’re being SO GODDAMN LOUD ABOUT IT that I can’t fucking FOCUS ON MY WORK

---

---

HAHAHAHA
Sorry Kacchan
That sounds really rough! o(╥﹏╥)o

---

---

Also you better not be skipping meals
That shit ain’t healthy
Eat regularly
Or I’ll kill you

---

---

Okay!!!
I promise Kacchan, I’ll eat regularly!
You can take that to the bank!
(*｀∪´*)ゞ

---

---

You fuckin better

---

---

LOL, this sounds like a threat.

---

---

Yeah
You better stay healthy or I will threaten your life by shoving healthy food in your mouth so fucking fast you’ll fucking choke
And you might die
So don’t test me

---

---

HAHA
Okay, message received, loud and clear!
I’m glad you’re cracking jokes now, Kacchan!

---

---

I’m fucking hysterical

---

---

In your own way, sure. (-ω-ゞ

---

---

The fuck does that mean
I’m funny all the fucking time

---

---

Then you should be more open about your funniness.
I don’t hear it that much!
It’s nice! (*´ﾟωﾟﾉ

---

---

Fine then

---

---

LOL
I have to go now, I’ve got errands to run ヾ(￣□￣;)ﾉ
It was nice talking with you, Kacchan!
And I hope you finish cleaning without any casualties

---

---

Haha very funny
Bye Deku

---

I do get lonely
A lot
Since you’re not here

---

It’s whatever
Anyway
Bye

---

Chapter Text

Deku

---

Happy New Years, Kacchan! ﾟ+｡:.ﾟヽ(*´∀`)ﾉﾟ.:｡+ﾟ
How have you been celebrating?

---

---

I didn’t
I watched Netflix until like one in the morning

---

---

Not even a little celebration?
A little confetti? ( •ॢ◡-ॢ)
A little partying? ( •ॢ◡-ॢ)
Nothing?

---

---

Nothing

---

---

Wow
That’s depressing!

---

---

SHUT THE FUCK UP
I don’t give a shit about celebrating new years
I didn’t even go home so it’s not like I could’ve done anything special anyway

---

---

Haha, maybe.
You should visit a shrine or a temple today!
I’m pretty sure there’s one near campus (ʃƪ・∀・)

---

---

Whatever
How’d you celebrate

---

---

I celebrated with my mom!
We just came back from a shrine
I’m beat
We ate a lot of food. (〜￣▽￣)〜

---

---

Yeah I bet

---

---

Oh, also!
Apparently, you don’t live far from where I live. (๑꒪̇⌄꒪̇๑)
Our moms are good friends.
My mom went to visit yours two days ago, and she said you only live a couple blocks away.
How come we haven’t seen each other before UA? (*ﾟﾛﾟ)

---

---

Hell if I know
I moved there in high school
But I guess we didn’t see each other cus we went to different schools

---

---

Oh yeah, probably.
What a coincidence, haha

---

---

Yeah

---

Icy Hot

---

Don’t bother me for the day.
I’m going on a date with Iida.
And if you even do as little as text me during it, I will come over and chop off all your fingers.

---

---

Damn I wasn’t going to
But now that
You
Say
So
Maybe
I
Should
Keep

---

---

Bakugou, I’m warning you right now.

---

---

Spamming
You
Because
I
Fucking

---

---

If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop.

---

---

Hate
You
Okay I’m done
Have fun or something

---

---

Thanks Bakudad.

---

---

BAKU WHAT????

---

Shitty Hair

---

hey bakubro!!!

---

---

What do you want
OH HEY
I WILL KILL YOU
FOR GIVING PIKACHU AND RACCOON EYES THE IMPRESSION THAT THEY ARE FRIENDS WITH ME
BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT
SO FUCK YOU

---

---

what are you talking about??

---

---

Your blond friend and your crush
They came over a couple days ago and literally just TOOK MY ROOM and TALKED ABOUT STUPID SHIT
FOR HOURS ON END
I will NEVER forgive them AND you for wasting my GODDAMN TIME

---

---

OH LOL
sorry man
they’re loose cannons!!!
they’re harmless i promise :)

---

---

Just about what I thought you’d say about your friend and the girl you like

---

---

LOL
oh um speaking of ashido
i’m going to the mall with her tomorrow
kind of as a date!!!
and
i need your help

---

---

No

---

---

but you didn’t even hear what i’m asking of you!!!

---

---

Don’t need to hear it
I’m not interested

---

---

cmonnnnn
i’ll owe you!!!
please bakubro :’(
pleeeeeeeaaaaassssssssseeeeeeeee

---

---

Oh my god FINE
JESUS
WHAT DO YOU WANT

---

---

YAYYY
i need your fashion advice!!!
i don’t have any fashion sense at all
and i don’t want to look like a loser on my date(?)
but you’re really good at that stuff and that’s super manly!!!
so help me man!!! :0

---

---

Yeah your clothes are the fucking worst

---

---

:(

---

---

Come over in like an hour
I’ll let you borrow some of my clothes
We’re probably the same size
And you BETTER BRING THEM BACK
OR I WILL KILL YOU
WITH NO HESITATION
GOT IT

---

---

OKAY!!!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH BAKUBRO YOU’RE A LIFESAVER!!!!!!!!! :’D

---

Round Face

---

Hi bakugou-kun!!
(ﾉﾟ0ﾟ)ﾉ~

---

---

Okay WHAT the fuck
Why are so many people texting me today
First half and half
Then shitty hair
And now YOU
What the FUCK do you even want from me
You never text me

---

---

Well I heard from a very wealthy source that you like someone!!
Someone verrryyyyy cute ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

---

---

Okay one
NO
And two why the hell are you using those dumbfuck emojis too

---

---

One, YES!!!
Two, I like using them! Aren’t they adorable? (*~▽~)

---

---

No

---

---

Ahem anyway
I wanted to talk to you about your little crush (≡^∇^≡)
On my best friend... Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

---

---

NO

---

---

IZUKU!!!!! (☆▽☆)

---

---

FUCK NO

---

---

YES!!!!!
YOU DO LIKE HIM!!!!!
I KNOW YOU DO

---

---

Okay let’s say
HYPOTHETICALLY
I like Deku
WHO THE FUCK TOLD YOU SO I CAN KILL THEM IN THEIR SLEEP

---

---

Hehehe I won’t say!!! ～̎̎٩(⌒͡∀⌒͡⌯̊)̥̊◦

---

---

It’s either that candy cane bastard or pikachu

---

---

Haha
Um
Well
I WON’T TELL YOU WHICH ONE IT WAS!!!!! ε=ε=(⊃≧□≦)⊃

---

---

Fine I’ll just kill both of them
They know too much anyway
And you’re next

---

---

Eep!! （ΟΔΟ；；）
But seriously
I know you like him!!
It’s really cute hehe *:ﾟ*｡⋆ฺ(*´◡`)

---

---

Shut the hell up

---

---

Really bakugou-kun
You can confide in me!! ｡(*^▽^*)ゞ
I’m rooting for you guys!!!!

---

---

No

---

---

Boo (；¬д¬)
What makes you so against liking izuku anyway

---

---

I’m not against liking Deku
I just MAYBE DON’T LIKE TELLING IT TO EVERY SINGLE DAMN PERSON I MEET

---

---

Awwww you’re not against liking izuku???
Bakugou-kun that is so cute (*≧▽≦)

---

---

Why the fuck do you even care that much
It’s not like you’re benefiting from this fuckfest
Unless you are
Then that’s fucking weird
Stop talking to me

---

---

I’m not!!!
You’re the weird one for thinking that!!! (°ㅂ° ╬)
I care because izuku is my best friend
And I care about him!!!
So I guess, by association, I also care about you!!! ⊂((・▽・))⊃

---

---

This is NOT how friendships work

---

---

It should be how they work lol
Also we can really bond with this fact!! (✌ﾟ∀ﾟ)

---

---

The fuck are you talking about

---

---

I used to have a crush on izuku back in the day
In high school!!!
But it didn’t work out (⌯˃̶᷄ ﹏ ˂̶᷄⌯)ﾟ
Anyway I know how you feel though!!
Even though I don’t see him in that way anymore, I know what it’s like to like him lol

---

---

Why didn’t it work out

---

---

Nothing dramatic, if that’s why you’re asking ~(‾⌣‾~)
He liked me back but we ended up falling out romantically
We’re even closer as friends now though!!

---

---

He liked BOTH shitty hair AND you???

---

---

Kirishima-kun?
Haha yeah!!
It was funny because we were all part of the same friend group ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

---

---

Okay
So Deku isn’t gay

---

---

Nope
You thought he was??

---

---

And he can have multiple crushes at a time
WELL I DON’T KNOW
I JUST KNEW HE LIKED SHITTY HAIR

---

---

Yes bakugou-kun, that’s how most crushing works
You crush on multiple people
HAHAHA
Yeah he liked both of us!! （◞‿◟）
He ended up dating me because I reciprocated feelings
But again it just didn’t work out (◜▿‾ ≡‾▿◝)

---

---

Whatever
I don’t care

---

---

I can tell you’re lying hehe
Anyway!!
If you need ANYTHING!!!
I’m here for you, bakugou-kun!! ꉂꉂ ( ˆᴗˆ )

---

---

Does he like me in that way

---

---

Oh I have no idea
I haven’t asked him!!

---

---

Don’t ask him

---

---

You sure?
I can if you want ( ´͈ ◡ `͈ )

---

---

No
I don’t wanna know

---

---

Then why did you ask that in the first place?? Lol
You’re so strange!!
It’s cool though hehe
I really hope he likes you back!!!
I think your dedication towards izuku is really cute!!! o(^▽^)o

---

---

STOP CALLING ME CUTE YOU MOTHERFUCKER

---

Shitty Hair

---

hey bakubro!!!
just wanted to thank you for the clothes :)
the date(?) went really well!!!
and ashido really liked my outfit!

---

---

MY outfit
That I picked for you

---

---

yeah obviously lol

---

---

Anyway you’re welcome
Now give it back

---

---

okay!! :D
i’ll drop it off tomorrow morning!
how does ten sound?

---

---

K

---

---

cool cool
thanks for helping me out with the date(?) bakugou!!

---

---

Why the fuck do you keep adding (?) after date
It was a date
Stop being so wishy washy about it

---

---

oh uh i actually don’t know if it WAS a date or not haha
we likely just hung out as friends!
ashido probably doesn’t like me in that way
she’s way too cool for someone like me lol

---

---

It was a date
And she’s not “too cool for someone like you” what the fuck
You’re not NOT cool
You’re fine

---

---

REALLY??? :’D
bakugou thank you so much...
you’re so so so manly!!!

---

---

Gross

---

---

LOL
i really hope she likes me back
do you think she does??

---

---

Why the hell would I know that
I don’t know shit about feelings

---

---

oh lol i guess that’s true

---

---

Just believe in yourself
And uh
Be manly
Or whatever the fuck you tell yourself every morning when you get up

---

---

ok dude
i’ll try my best!!! >:)
oh that looks evil
ok we’ll settle with a :)

---

---

You are so fucking stupid

---

Deku

---

Hey are you coming back today

---

---

Yeah! ~ヾ(＾∇＾)
Did you miss me, Kacchan?

---

---

Yeah

---

---

Oh, really?
Haha, I didn’t expect you to say that so seriously.
Well, I’ll be back in the afternoon, probably around three
So you can stop missing me now! *(*´∀｀*)☆

---

---

Whatever
What do you want for dinner

---

---

Katsudon? (ʃƪ˘･ᴗ･˘)

---

---

K

---

---

Kacchan, you’re being really nice...
Did something good happen? 〜(^∇^〜）

---

---

No
I’m the exact same

---

---

That’s not true though!!!
You haven’t swore at me once yet! (◞ ๑⑈௰⑈)
I know that’s like, the lowest expectation ever, but you swear a lot.
It’s really weird to think about you texting me without a swear at all

---

---

I’m the exact FUCKING same

---

---

LOL, that’s the Kacchan I know
Anyway, see you in about three hours! (ゝω･)ﾉ

---

---

See you

---

Deku

---

Hi kacchan

---

---

Hi?
Where’s your stupid emojis

---

---

Oh
Whoops
Forgot to add them

---

( ´△｀)

---

---

Okay you’re being weird
Where the hell’s your punctuation
And your capitalization now that I look at that first message

---

---

Right Here

---

---

The fuck are you doing right now

---

---

Notjing

---

---

Holy fuck
Are you drunk

---

---

Hehehehjejejejeaeheah
Yeah
Funny

---

---

What’s funny
Entertain me Deku

---

---

Everything is funny

---

---

I thought you said you like being sober
Hypocrite

---

---

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am not a hypoceite

---

---

Sure Deku

---

---

Uraraka-san and kaminari-kun invited meeee
To drimk

---

---

Why would they do that
Have you ever gotten drunk before
Like
Okay
Have you ever drank alcohol before
At all

---

---

No

---

---

Oh god

---

---

Kacchan is veru funnt

---

---

I’m not even cracking any jokes right now
Would you straight up die if I actually made a joke

---

---

Hehehehehe maybe

---

---

Jesus

---

---

No
My name is izuku

---

---

Maybe you should stop drinking

---

---

Maybe
NO
KACCHA N CANT TELL ME WAHT TO DO

---

---

I’m not telling you what to do
I’m just suggesting
Since you haven’t drank alcohol before
You’re really going through it rn

---

---

SO WHAT!!!!!

---

---

Okay this is kind of funny though
In a kinda fucked up way
Never seen you this goddamn unhinged before

---

---

I’m not unhinged
Unhinjed

---

---

No you were right the first time

---

---

Ok
Thanks kacchan

---

---

No problem

---

---

Hehehehehe

---

Kacchan can I tell you somrthing important.

---

---

Sure

---

---

How
Do yoi get over someonw

---

---

How do you get over someone?

---

---

Yea
I want to get over someone

---

---

Do you expect me to know every single fucking answer in the fucking universe
I have no idea
Never had to do it before
Probably never will do it in the future

---

---

Luckt

---

---

I guess

---

---

I wanr to get over kirishima-kun

---

---

I know

---

---

Oh you do?
Wow kacchan is so smart

---

---

Well I’m not a fucking idiot

---

---

No youre not
Not an idiot
Not an idior
Not idiot
Not idiit

---

---

Deku stop drinking
Are you still drinking even though you can’t even form a coherent fucking sentence

---

---

Stopped drinkign

---

---

Did you

---

---

No
HAHAHA
Kacchan knows
That’s so funny

---

---

Well STOP DRINKING
I’m afraid you might actually fucking die from alcohol poisoning
How many drinks did you drink

---

---

A million

---

---

That’s great
That’s so fucking great

---

---

Are you angey

---

---

No I’m just stressed
I have a feeling you’re a lightweight
And you aren’t used to alcohol
So
Stop drinking
It’s for your own good

---

---

Does kacchan care
About me

---

---

Shit I guess I do
Because my roommate is out getting FUCKING WASTED
And he doesn’t know how to handle it
I wouldn’t mind if you’re an experienced drinker
But you’re not

---

---

Haha
Kacchan carws
Thats cool
Cooooooooool

---

---

Jesus
I’m picking you up
Where are you

---

---

The island of NUNYA

---

---

I’m not falling for that joke

---

---

[ IMAGE SENT ]
Map

---

---

See you in ten

---

Deku

---

KACCHAN I AM SO SORRY FOR WHAT I DID YESTERDAY!!!
I WAS REREADING OUR TEXT CONVERSATION AND I’M SO EMBARRASSED!!!
HOW COULD I SAY ALL THAT???
I’M SO SORRY!!!

---

---

It’s whatever

---

---

NO IT’S NOT WHATEVER!!!

---

---

TURN OFF CAPS LOCK DEKU

---

---

Oh, sorry
But really, I’m so so SO sorry, Kacchan! (๑o̴̶̷̥᷅﹏o̴̶̷̥᷅๑)
That was totally unacceptable of me.
I hope I didn’t cause you too much stress.
Though, I probably did...
AHHH I feel terrible!!! ヾ(;ﾟ;Д;ﾟ;)ﾉﾞ

---

---

It’s fine
Seriously
Stop apologizing

---

---

Are you sure?

---

---

Deku I literally save your ass like every other week
This was no different

---

---

Oh, yeah, I guess you do...
But that just makes me feel worse! ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д`ﾟ)ﾟ｡
I’m the worst roommate ever!!!
To have my roommate get me out of so much trouble all the time...
Can I apologize just one more time, Kacchan? ｡:ﾟ(;´∩`;)ﾟ:｡

---

---

Fine
But that’s the last apology

---

---

Okay...
I’m sorry, Kacchan

---

---

I made you soup for your hangover
It’s in the fridge
So just warm it up
And you BETTER DRINK IT
OR ELSE

---

---

Thank you, Kacchan!!! ｡･ﾟﾟ･(>д<)･ﾟﾟ･｡
I’ll definitely eat it!!! I promise!!!
You’re the best roommate ever!!!

---

---

I know that

---

---

Haha, I’m sure you do
The best roommate and the worst roommate in the same dorm...

---

---

What the fuck
You’re not the worst roommate

---

---

I just cause you so much strife!
I’m not even all that helpful -- you’re usually the one doing the work
I need to step up my game!!! ヽ(´□｀。)ﾉ

---

---

You’re doing fine
You’re the nicest guy I know so that should be enough

---

---

Really? ू(ʚ̴̶̷́ .̠ ʚ̴̶̷̥̀ ू)

---

---

Would I fucking lie to your face

---

---

I guess not
Thanks, then...
I’m glad you see me that way.

---

---

Yeah
Now eat the fucking soup

---

---

Okay! (＞Д＜)ゝ

---

Icy Hot

---

Why does Midoriya look like he’s dead?

---

---

He went drinking late last night with round face and pikachu and got super fucking hungover

---

---

Oh, good.
I was afraid you did something.

---

---

Aight that’s NOT FUNNY
I WOULDN’T LAND A FINGER ON THAT GUY
EVEN IF I DIDN’T LIKE HIM

---

---

“Even if I didn’t like him”
So you DO like him?
Good for you, Bakugou. I’m glad you figured it out.

---

---

I hate you
I really do

---

---

I know, don’t worry.
Well, he just told me that you helped him with his hangover.
So that’s nice.

---

---

I’d be an extra assholey asshole if I didn’t

---

---

I think maybe a year ago, you wouldn’t have done anything.

---

---

Wow does that mean I’m becoming the nicest fucking gentleman in the fucking world!!!
Wow!!!
So amazing!!!
I can just feel myself improving SO MUCH!!!
Leaps and BOUNDS!!!
Who wants to celebrate my personal improvement with a PARTY!!! A TOAST!!!

---

---

Okay, I get it.

---

---

Fuck you

---

---

Yeah, I walked right into that one.

---

Deku

---

When are you coming back

---

Deku
Hey
Answer me

---

?

---

Round Face

---

Hey
Is Deku with you

---

---

Nope
Why?

---

---

He didn’t come back yet
He’s usually back after his classes
And he didn’t tell me that he’d be out late
So I thought he’d pussy out and go to your dorm or something

---

---

He’s not here ∠(´д｀)
Maybe he’s studying in the library again???

---

---

Christ
Don’t tell me he fell asleep there AGAIN

---

---

LOL
It’s a very big possibility!!! (n˘v˘•)¬

---

---

I swear to FUCK if I have to go there again to get him I will end up ripping my OWN head off

---

---

Yikes!!!

---

Deku

---

SORRY KACCHAN!!! I was meeting up with a couple students and professors for something regarding one of my classes.
I had my phone turned off which is why I didn’t respond to you!
Sorry if I worried you! ( ≧Д≦)

---

---

K

---

---

Just K?
Wow Kacchan, why was I even worried about you being worried (⌣_⌣”)

---

---

I don’t control your life
Don’t give a shit what you end up doing

---

---

That’s just not true though!
You always care about what time I come back.
It’s cute! (*´∀`*)

----

---

Shut the fuck up I am NOT cute

---

---

Right, because you can “bench 200”.

---

---

Wasn’t gonna bring that up
But yeah I CAN BENCH 200

---

---

LOL
Well anyway, I’ll probably be back in thirty minutes
Sorry again! ( 〃．．)

---

---

Stop fucking apologizing for shit that isn’t even your fault
I’m not angry
I was just wondering

---

---

Oh, okay!
Um, thanks then, for understanding! o(^^o)

---

---

Yeah

---

Icy Hot

---

Have you mentally prepared yourself for the con?

---

---

Don’t need to prepare
I’m no pussy

---

---

I suppose, but I thought you’d mentally prepare...
Since you’re going on a date with Midoriya.
A date.
With Midoriya.
Your crush.
The one you adore.
Mister pretty boy in your mind.

---

---

SHUT UP I KNOW ALREADY

---

---

The subject of your admiration.
Alright, I’ll stop.
But I’m not exactly joking about the preparation.

---

---

I’ll be FINE
It’s not even gonna be a date fucker
I’m not gonna do shit there

---

---

Sure, but you’re going just for Midoriya’s sake, right?
That’s boyfriend worthy, I think.
Then again, what do I know.
I only have an extremely diligent and handsome boyfriend who’s a wonderful gentleman in every sense of the word.

---

---

FUCK YOU
DEKU AND I ARE NOT EVEN DATING
AND ALSO ARE YOU
B R A G G I N G  FOR GLASSES???
WHAT THE FUCK???

---

---

I like him very much.
Hey, if you and Midoriya work out, then we can be dating-our-roommates buddies.

---

---

I don’t want to be ANY kind of buddy with you
Asshole
Bitch
I hate you

---

---

If you say so.
Maybe your Bakusenses will tell you otherwise.
Until then, I’ll continue to go on lovely dates with my lovely boyfriend.

---

---

Remind me why we’re still friends.

---

---

No.

---

---

Fair enough

---

Deku

---

HydroiCon is this weekend!!! ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆
I’m so excited!!!
Kacchan, are you excited?

---

---

Not really
But it’s nice that you are

---

---

Haha, that’s right -- you’re just tagging along because I practically begged you to...
I can’t help but feel a little bad about that.
If you don’t want to go last-minute, I totally understand! ＼(;´□｀)/

---

---

Hey I said I would
So I’m fucking going

---

---

Okay then! ┐(´∇｀)┌
Anyway, you signed up for an overnight pass, right?

---

---

Idfk
Maybe
I already forgot

---

---

I think you did
Because I have both Saturday and Sunday listed, and there’s one hotel room
It’ll be like rooming again! Except it’s not our dorm this time! ＼(*｀∀´)人(｀∀´*)／

---

---

Yeah I guess

---

---

I feel like I have to thank you again for this, Kacchan.
It’s like all of my dreams coming true!
I can’t believe I’m going to be meeting the cast of All Might!!!
☆*･゜ﾟ･*(^O^)/*･゜ﾟ･*☆
Thank you so much!!!
Thank you thank you thank you!!! ☆ﾟ･*:｡.:(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾟ･*:..:☆

---

---

Yeah
No problem

---

---

((┌|o^▽^o|┘))♪
ヽﾐ ´∀｀ﾐノ
(ღ˘⌣˘ღ) ♫･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

---

---

What

---

---

Just dancing through kaomoijs!
I can’t see you right now, so I have to make the most out of them in order to show you my excitement!!!
I am so excited!!! 
I can barely sit still!!! (੭ु｡╹▿╹｡)੭ु⁾⁾

---

---

God you’re such a fucking nerd Deku

---

---

Hehe
So what? (^ワ^＝)

---

---

Nothing
It’s cute

---

---

Cute?

---

---

Said what I said
Gtg

---

---

Oh, okay
See you Kacchan

---

Icy Hot

---

I’m going to jump off the nearest fucking bridge
Goodbye cruel world
I’ve had it
My limit has been reached

---

---

What happened now?

---

---

I called Deku cute
Might’ve screwed up everything
Kill me
Bury me alive

---

---

Okay.

---

---

YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY OKAY
YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO COMFORT ME
FUCKER

---

---

Didn’t know if you wanted Bakupity.
But I suppose I’ll give you some.
There, there.

---

---

You’re ass at this

---

---

Apologies.

---

Chapter Text

A day before the HydroiCon weekend, Katsuki returns to his dorm to the smell of something burning.

    His first thought is: shit, did I leave the stove on?

    His second thought is: no, I’m not stupid enough to leave the stove on.

    His third thought is: wait, Deku? He’s back early?

    His fourth thought is: Deku looks nice in that shirt. Okay, time to fucking jump out the fucking window for thinking that.

    And finally his fifth thought, which he vocalizes, is: “Deku, what the fuck are you doing at the fucking stove. ”

    “Kacchan!” Izuku responds in a panic, head whipping towards Katsuki’s voice. His eyes are as wide as saucers and the area near his mouth and freckles has traces of sauce on it, like the sauce fucking exploded in his face and he haphazardly cleaned it off. “Um, hi! Hello! What am I doing at the stove? That’s um, that’s a great question!”

    Katsuki squints because honestly, he kind of has a headache. It’s cold outside, colder than it usually is for Katsuki, and he’s just been assigned this assignment that he doesn’t want to do. It’s got a shitton of reading and analysis, and he’ll have to write a paper on it that’s due in four days. And some asshole spilled coffee on his sweater earlier, so he’s wearing a dried coffee shirt under his jacket and it fucking sucks.

    He’s been trying so hard not to flip out throughout the day. And he’s actually gotten pretty good. The minute something happens to him, Katsuki closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, counts to ten in his head, and thinks that hey, after all this, Katsuki will be back in his dorm, and he could cook his anger away and life would be just peachy. 

    But now he can’t even do that, because Izuku’s about to set the whole place on fire.

    “Deku,” Katsuki starts, slowly and hopefully calmly, so he doesn’t end up blowing up on his crush, “you have ten seconds. ”

    “I was going to cook dinner today because I thought I’d do it as a thank you since you’re always back earlier than me and you’re always making these awesome foods all the time and I thought I could give you a well-deserved break because you’re always doing everything and I feel pretty bad about it if I’ll be honest so I searched up a recipe that I thought maybe you’d like because I remember you talking about how you like spicy food and so I found this mapo tofu recipe online and bought the tofu and the rest of the ingredients but I think I might’ve messed up somewhere and now it’s kind of burning but it’s not that bad it’s still salvageable--”

    Katsuki stops him by holding up a hand. Izuku’s mouth shuts up instantly.

    “Deku, I like to cook.”

    “R-Right,” Izuku squeaks as a hand crawls up to his bushy hair and grabs onto it for dear life.

    “I cook to relieve stress,” Katsuki continues. “ Got it? ”

    Izuku gulps, and Katsuki’s eyes subconsciously follow Izuku’s Adam’s apple as it bobs up and down. “I-- Yeah, I... I got it!”

    Katsuki closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, counts to ten, and then... “ So why the FUCK do you keep assuming I’m going out of my FUCKING way to cook for you?! ”

    “I can’t help it!” Izuku exclaims in return. “Cooking is a lot of work, and I always feel bad when I come back and there’s already food ready, but I didn’t make it!”

    “Do you want to make your own food?!”

    “I want to make food for you! ” Izuku clenches his fists and raises them besides his head. “Kacchan, I gotta pay you back somehow! You’re being too nice to me!”

    Katsuki seriously swallows the primal urge to laugh straight in Izuku’s face, because Katsuki isn’t nice. Or well, he wasn’t nice. He has no idea what the fuck he is anymore. He’s mellowed out and he has no fucking clue if that’s a good or a bad thing. So instead he opts for a simple “I’m not that nice.”

    Izuku wildly gestures to the stove. “Well, you may not think you’re very nice, but you’re a really good cook and you make dinner like every single night and you don’t hog that food to yourself so that’s pretty nice, I think! ”

    Due to Izuku’s motions, Katsuki suddenly remembers that holy fuck, their food is probably burning. So he completely ignores Izuku’s comment and deals with that, “that” being the charred remains of what was supposed to be mapo tofu. It’s actually not that unsavable, and if Katsuki had even a little more energy in him, he could probably fix it.

    Anyway, ten minutes after that whole fiasco, they’re now sitting on the edges of their respective beds, hands planted on their knees, with glares at each other for really no reason in particular.

    Katsuki, despite having maybe the worst day in a while, isn’t actually mad at Izuku. And he’s really trying to figure out if Izuku is mad at him. Maybe he is. His eyes look kind of irritated, but mostly frustrated, with a hint of guilt in there. Katsuki’s pretty sure his eyes looked a lot guiltier when Katsuki first walked in, but whatever, emotions change.

    “Sorry for ruining dinner,” Izuku says finally, jaw clenching as he looks down to the ground. His fingers curl over his sweatpants and grip the fabric tightly.

    “Whatever,” Katsuki replies exhaustedly. He also tears his eyes away from Izuku, but it’s mostly because he doesn’t think it’s very cash money of him to stare at his crush for an extended period of time. He wouldn’t fucking know the common courtesies in regards to crushes, but that should be a given, he thinks.

    “Um, I noticed your shirt’s got a stain on it,” says Izuku, pointing to the coffee spill on Katsuki’s sweater.

    Katsuki actually forgot about it. “Oh yeah. Some bastard tripped and spilled coffee on me before my last class,” he responds with a tug on the material.

    “I can wash it for you!” Izuku proclaims as he jumps up from his seat.

    “The fuck? No, I’ll just throw it in the laundry basket and wash it with the rest--”

    “ Kacchan! ” whines his roommate, pulling onto his green curls, “ please just let me do something for you! It’s actually infuriating how much you’re rejecting help!”

    “You don’t need to do anything for me!” Katsuki shoots right back as he rolls over and faces the wall again. Conversation over.

    Izuku starts up the conversation again. He’s moved closer, so close his knee is pressed on Katsuki’s mattress, so Katsuki can feel the slight dip under his abdomen. He hears Izuku’s voice -- it’s way louder now that he’s in such close proximity -- as he says his next lines. “But why?! Kacchan, you’re just not being fair at this point! I haven’t done anything for you!”

    “That’s rich, ” Katsuki spits in retaliation. “More like I don’t do shit for you. ” He still refuses to look at his roommate, because he knows that if he does, especially given how little space is between them, he definitely won’t be thinking about who’s been doing more in their cohabitation. He’ll be thinking about very, very different things.

    “How is that even true?! ” Izuku retorts with a scoff. “You cook, you clean, you get me out of unsavory situations, you bought me super expensive tickets to a con with a meet-and-greet, not to mention you’re coming with me to that con even though you don’t even like what’s there, you actually care about me-- ”

    “I do not care about you--” (Fat lie, but Katsuki’s gotta keep up his persona somehow. )

    “--And you don’t ask for anything in return!” Izuku concludes. “How am I even supposed to measure up to that?! I’m trying to be a good roommate too, but you’re just so nice to me and I don’t know what to do! I feel like a leecher!”

    The entire time, Katsuki can’t help but think how ironic this whole thing is. This is exactly what Katsuki thought of in regards to Izuku -- how he’s so nice and kind and accepting of his shitty personality and buys him fucking watches without even a thank you in mind -- but you know what, guess this means they’re meant for each other after all, in one way or another.

    Okay, fine, Katsuki will flip over. His brain will just have to ignore all the intrusive desires to kiss that stupid mouth of Izuku’s, because he suddenly feels pretty shitty about literally turning his back on his cute roommate.

    Katsuki’s red eyes stare deep into Izuku’s green ones, and he feels something in his chest do a flip. It’s probably his heart, that damn bastardly thing.

    “You’re not a leecher,” Katsuki mumbles.

    Izuku pouts, eyebrows lowering on his face, as he helplessly sighs with a hand running through his mess of a hairstyle. “Gee, thanks Kacchan.”

    “I’m not lying to you.”

    “Doesn’t make me feel much better, to be honest.”

    “I mean it.”

    “I know you do,” Izuku says with a resigned smile, “but why won’t you just let me do stuff for you? ”

    Katsuki sits up again and Izuku’s face moves away. Secretly, Katsuki wishes he had the balls to pull at Izuku’s shirt so they’re close again, and then maybe if he’s lucky, he could score a kiss with the nerd. And they could be stuck in their own little bubble for a minute, a bubble Katsuki’s ashamed to admit that he wants really badly.

    But nope, Katsuki’s a coward with no experience in the love field, so he just has to silently mourn Izuku’s lean-back into reality. “Fine. What the fuck do you want to do.”

    “Wash that shirt,” Izuku says immediately. “It’s seriously going to stain permanently if you don’t--”

    Katsuki pulls the coffee sweater over his head and throws it in Izuku’s face. “Then fucking wash it.”

    Izuku slides it off his head, stares at it, before staring at Katsuki. And his face reddens considerably, freckles blending in with the bloom, because Katsuki’s now completely shirtless.

    And Katsuki didn’t even realize it himself, because he’s too fucking tired to register anything he does for the rest of the day.

    Their eyes lock before Izuku stands up abruptly and sprints to the bathroom.

    Katsuki hears the water from the sink run, awkward stillness filling the room, and now he wants to kick a huge hole in the dorm wall, crawl through it, and rot there alone with only his woes to accompany him.

Icy Hot

---

I might have made a grave mistake

---

---

You make grave mistakes every day.
You’re just noticing?

---

---

BASTARD
WHY ARE WE FRIENDS

---

---

Because you can always count on me to listen to you, even if you personally hate that I know you inside and out.

---

---

Okay fine whatever
Look I’m lowkey kind of panicking
It’s finally hitting me that Deku and I are going on a date
A DATE
And we are staying in the same hotel room
The same hotel room
THE SAME HOTEL ROOM

---

---

I heard you the first time.

---

---

HALF AND HALF WHAT DO I DO

---

---

About what?

---

---

I THINK I MIGHT LIKE HIM MORE THAN I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT
THIS FUCKING SUCKS ASS
I HATE IT HERE
WHY DO PEOPLE HAVE CRUSHES
THIS IS JUST A ROMANTIC KIND OF TORTURE

---

---

Okay, calm down, lover boy.
You’ll be fine.
You already live with him, so staying overnight in a hotel room shouldn’t be all that different.

---

---

YEAH BUT IT IS DIFFERENT ISN’T IT
IT’S DEFINITELY DIFFERENT
BASTARD A FUCKING HOTEL ROOM ISN’T THE SAME GODDAMN THING AS A COLLEGE DORM ROOM
WHAT IF THERE’S ONLY ONE BED
OH MY GOD
WHAT IF THERE
IS ONLY ONE BED.
I ALREADY FORGOT WHAT I SPECIFIED FOR THE TICKETS
FUCKING CHRIST
I HATE MYSELF

---

---

Sure, there’s a difference between a hotel room and a dorm room, but... there isn’t THAT big of a difference. It’s still a room you share at the end of the day.
If there’s only one bed, then one of you can take the couch or something.
If you’re feeling particularly risky, you can share the bed.
Though, knowing you, you’ll probably die before you do something like that.

---

---

I really can’t tell if that’s an insult or not
Take this SERIOUSLY candy cane

---

---

I am, Bakugou.
You actually have my full attention for once.

---

---

Oh
OKAY WELL THANKS
BUT I’M STILL FREAKING THE FUCK OUT

---

---

How can I help you stop panicking?

---

---

Don’t judge me when I say this

---

---

Okay.

---

---

I need you to listen to me
As I talk through my fucking feelings
Because for once in my fucking life I feel like I can’t bottle it anymore
Can’t tell myself to get over it
Because this is shit I’m not familiar with
So how the hell can I get over shit I’m not familiar with

---

---

Astute.
Sure, I can listen right now. Iida is out working a late shift, so I’m free.
And we’re friends, so of course I’ll help you.
By the way, where’s Midoriya if you’re texting so frantically like you’re alone? Shouldn’t he be back by now?

---

---

Thanks I guess
God it’s a long fucking story don’t get me started
All you need to know is that I’m shirtless right now
And the dorm is dead quiet except the sound of running water

---

---

That clears up... absolutely nothing.
But whatever, I’m sure it’s not important.

---

---

Okay
Hoooooooooooooo
I um
I like Deku
A lot
FUCK
UM
I UH

---

---

Take your time.

---

---

I LIKE HIM A LOTAND I’M AFRAID THAT I’M GONNA FUCK IT ALL UP DURING THE WEEKEND
I’M GONNA BE SO FUCKING AWKWARD
I ALREADY AM BUT WITH DEKU IT’S GONNA BE LIKE A MILLION TIMES WORSE
WHAT IF I ACCIDENTALLY CONFESS TO HIM AND HE DOESN’T LIKE ME BACK
BUT WE’RE ROOMMATES SO I CAN’T JUST LIKE
FUCKING
IGNORE HIM
ACTUALLY HE MIGHT JUST IGNORE ME
SHIT
FUCK
HELP!!!!!!
WHAT DO I DO!!!!!!!!!

---

---

I have an idea, but I’m going to need your permission.
I can make a group chat with Uraraka and Kaminari so you can get extra help.
I’ll be honest, I’m not that good at this kind of stuff.
I think if there’s more hands on deck, you’ll feel more confident.

---

---

Fuck
I don’t want to fucking talk to them

---

---

I’m sure that’s not true.

---

---

FINE
WHATEVER
Just make sure they don’t tell anyone about this
Or I’ll see to their end myself

---

---

Obviously.
Who do you take me as?

---

---

A potential backstabber because it might’ve been YOU who told round face

---

---

No comment.

---

Bakugou, Uraraka, Kaminari

> Todoroki

Hello.

---

---

I fucking hate it here

---

> Uraraka

What’s this?? _(°ω°｣ ∠)_

---

> Todoroki

It’s the Bakutaskforce.
We’re here to help Bakugou because he’s having a crush crisis.

---

> Uraraka

OH????

---

---

FUCK OFF ICY HOT

---

> Todoroki

I’m here to help you, so no thanks.

---

> Uraraka

I knew bakugou-kun would come around!!! ٩(｡•ω•｡)و
Didn’t I say I’d be here for you if you needed anything??
So here I am!!!

---

---

Whatever

---

> Kaminari

hey hey hey whats goin on my homies
OHHHHH YO
ARE WE SAVING BAKUGOUS ASS RN

---

---

Can we kick him

---

> Todoroki

No.
He’s a valuable asset.

---

---

IS HE THOUGH?

---

> Kaminari

I AM
IM VERY GOOD AT THIS LOVE STUFF
trust me man B)

---

---

I’m inclined to block you

---

> Uraraka

LOL

---

> Todoroki

So here’s the deal.
Bakugou is very poorly sorting out his feelings for Midoriya, which I can only describe is a hopeless infodump where he screams in caps and, for once, doesn’t sound either completely disinterested or outright angry at outside forces.
He needs our help, because he’s definitely going to screw it all up if he deals with all this himself. He’s utterly out of touch with his feelings, and I’m sure we all know what Bakugou is like; he’s incredibly impulsive about things he’s not used to.

---

> Uraraka

Awww poor baby 」(￣▽￣」)

---

> Kaminari

so the ameteur needs assistance from the big leagues huh
well youve come to the right place bakugou B)

---

---

Half and half I will SNAP YOUR SPINE
AND I’LL SNAP ALL OF YOUR SPINES TOO

---

> Kaminari

try me man
i know judo

---

> Todoroki

You don’t understand, Kaminari.
Bakugou can lift 200.

---

---

FUCK OFF
But I can

---

> Uraraka

HAHAHA

---

> Kaminari

LMAOOOOO

---

Kaminari changed the group name to “Bakutaskforce”.

> Todoroki

Thank you Kaminari.

---

> Kaminari

np B)

---

---

Fuck you pikachu

---

> Kaminari

PIKACHU?????
yo that nickname kinda slaps
thanks for it

---

---

You’re welcome I guess

---

> Uraraka

Well anyway!
Why is bakugou-kun losing his mind over izuku??
Aside from the obvious reason LOL (ノ^∇^)

---

---

I’m gonna fuck it all up

---

> Todoroki

He’s going to fuck it all up.
Oh.
Yeah, what Bakugou said.

---

> Kaminari

why are you gonna fuck it all up man

---

---

Con

---

> Kaminari

what

---

---

We’re going to that stupid fucking con together and we’re staying in a room together and I’m going to fuck it all up I can just FEEL IT in my VEINS

---

> Kaminari

WAIT YOURE ROOMING?
YOURE HOTEL ROOMING???
YO
MAKE YOUR MOVE MAN

---

---

TAKE THAT HALF AND HALF
I FUCKIN TOLD YOU HOTEL ROOMING IS DIFFERENT THAN DORM ROOMING

---

> Todoroki

...
Alright, I surrender.

---

> Uraraka

YEAH BAKUGOU-KUN!!! MAKE YOUR MOVE!!! \ \ \٩( ′ㅂ`)و ̑̑/ / /
Why do you think you’ll ruin it??
Are you telling us to talk you OUT of that idea????

---

---

Because he’s not over shitty hair
I don’t fuckin have a chance

---

> Uraraka

How do you even KNOW that??
You haven’t even tried confessing!! (ノ◇≦。)

---

> Todoroki

Uraraka has a point.
Bakugou, you’re basically throwing yourself a pity party already, and you haven’t even done anything yet.

---

> Kaminari

and like
youre super fine B)
so
midoriya would be pretty stupid to turn you down

---

---

Uh
Okay
Thanks
..I think

---

> Todoroki

I wasn’t going to use Kaminari’s language, but yeah, you’re not bad looking.

---

---

I literally cannot give a shit about YOUR opinion

---

> Uraraka

LOL
But yeah bakugou-kun you should go for it!!! (≧∇≦)/

---

---

Did you READ what I said
He’s not over that redhead idiot yet
Even if I did confess it wouldn’t fucking work out

---

> Uraraka

Don’t throw in the towel so easily!!! ヾ(◜▿‾ 三 ‾▿◝)ﾉ

---

> Kaminari

i mean he can like two people at once
hes done it before

---

---

Yeah I KNOW that
Round face is RIGHT THERE
But why the hell would he like ME as the second person
Also I DON’T WANT TO BE THE SECOND PERSON???

---

> Kaminari

oh man
bakugou you really have no clue how crushes work huh

---

---

So what

---

> Kaminari

dude its like totally natural to like multiple people and like one crush just as much as another
some people are just crushers and a lot of the time theres no ranking system or anything
its just “man i really like this person but i also like that person equally as much”
sometimes it really just falls on the situations
like midoriya could like both kirishima AND you and not put one of you over the other
but you actually like him back so if you were to confess
(WHICH YOU SHOULD)
hed pick you over kirishima

---

> Uraraka

YES!!! ^^^^^

---

---

Wait why the fuck do you know so much about romance
Are you dating someone

---

> Kaminari

no i just have common sense B)

---

---

Bitch

---

> Kaminari

B)

---

> Todoroki

And I already told you, he’s trying to get over Kirishima as best he can.
He knows he doesn’t have a shot with a straight guy.
But you’re not straight.

---

---

He doesn’t know that

---

> Todoroki

He’ll know when you shoot your shot.

---

---

What if I ruin it
What if he really doesn’t like me back
And I fuck up our friendship

---

> Kaminari

you never know unless you try
a wise man once said
“you miss 100% of the shots you dont take”

---

> Todoroki

Who said that?

---

> Kaminari

idk gandhi or someone

---

---

I don’t want to take the risk

---

> Uraraka

Don’t feel pressured!!!
If you’re really not comfortable telling him, then don’t!!

---

---

BUT I DO WANT TO
FUCK
I HATE THIS
I WANT TO TELL HIM THAT I LIKE HIM
BUT I CAN’T GET REJECTED AGAIN
AND I DON’T WANT TO GET OVER HIM

---

> Kaminari

hey man
its totally normal to feel conflicted about this
its also totally normal to feel scared to tell someone your feelings
(especially for someone like you, who apparently never opens up about anything lmao)
but just know that no matter what you do, youre strong and brave
and your feelings arent weird or anything
theyre perfectly fine
and if midoriya doesnt like you back then hes really missing out
somewhere

---

> Uraraka

I know you make him really happy!!! ヾ(´∀｀○)ﾉ
I can tell you guys have come a long way since your first meeting lol
He hasn’t stayed over at my dorm since!!

---

> Kaminari

were rooting for u man B)
kirishima may be my best bro but midoriyas way better off with you
if he does actually like you which i hope he does
even if you have some pretty scary anger issues

---

> Todoroki

It’s not so bad anymore.
He used to be much worse.

---

> Uraraka

Worse than now???

---

> Todoroki

Trust me when I say this, Bakugou used to be the literal devil.

---

> Kaminari

thats believable lol

---

> Uraraka

Well he’s not bad currently
He’s a little mean but he’s not bad! ヾ(・◇・)ﾉ
I wonder how bad bakugou-kun used to be???

---

> Todoroki

He improved because of Midoriya.
Wow, what a coincidence.
(It’s not a coincidence.)

---

> Uraraka

HAHAHAHA

---

> Kaminari

speaking of
the man himself is being awfully quiet
something on ur mind bakugou?

---

> Todoroki

Did I overshare?

---

> Kaminari

oof maybe

---

---

Deku’s back so I have to go

---

> Kaminari

OH LOL
ofc he would abandon the gc the moment his crush returns

---

> Uraraka

BEST WISHES BAKUGOU-KUN!!! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و
You can do it!!!

---

> Todoroki

Go at your own pace, but I don’t think you should hide your feelings for him.
He’s full of surprises.
And who knows, maybe he’s been meaning to confess to you, too.
So follow your gut.
Or your heart.
Whichever sounds better.

---

> Uraraka

^^^

---

> Kaminari

^^^^^

---

---

Thanks

---

> Kaminari

WHOA BAKUGOU SAID THANKS SINCERELY
SOMEONE GRAB A KODAK

---

> Uraraka

And don’t be afraid to text us if you ever need anything!!
Especially during the con, lol (✿´ ꒳ ` )

---

> Todoroki

We got your back, Bakugou.

---

Katsuki feels a little better after consulting the Bakutaskforce (he is not a fan of that name, but it’s workable, so he’ll just have to deal with it), but he’s still just barely holding onto sanity. One step up from “extreme panic” is still “moderate panic”, ultimately.

    The ride to the convention center was grueling, to say the least. Katsuki and Izuku took the bus, and they sat right next to each other, knees touching due to the cramped space. Izuku was looking out the window with this goofy smile on his face and his leg bouncing a thousand bounces a second. And during the whole bus ride, Katsuki couldn’t stop thinking about how Izuku really does smell like mint and honeydew, a refreshing scent that would put Katsuki at ease if it weren’t from, oh, his oblivious-as-fuck crush of an idiot.

They checked into the con about an hour ago, and Izuku had since ran off. He gave Katsuki a big wave, said he’d be roaming the booths until two in the afternoon, when he’d make his way to the meet-and-greet. He asked Katsuki if he’d like to join him, but Katsuki declined. Really, he can’t give a shit about any of this nerdy crap.

He went immediately to the food court, which Izuku said had good food, but he was dead wrong. Katsuki ordered a burger and after his first bite, decided he could definitely make a burger like a million times better. At least the fries were fine, and at least he wasn’t starving out of his mind afterwards, so he supposes that was a mission accomplished.

After all that fun exploring, it’s now at the current time, noon sharp.

Katsuki really does not belong here. Everywhere he looks, he sees nerds cosplaying in costumes of characters Katuski has never seen before. He’s pretty sure he’s seen an All Might cosplay, but that’s the only one he recognizes, because the title character of Izuku’s lame anime he obsesses over is the only anime character he’s had to look at for longer than one second.

And maybe Katsuki himself stands out as a lame-o too, because he’s not wearing any merch or clothes of any media piece. He’s simply dressed in a black hoodie and track pants, which is so ridiculously plain compared to the rest of the people here.

Shit, Katsuki’s the ordinary one. And now he’s the weird one for being not weird. This is like an identity crisis on steroids.

Thankfully (or not thankfully?), his “savior group chat”, as Denki called it, decides to ping at that very moment.

Bakutaskforce

> Uraraka

Bakugou-kun!!! How are things going?
☆^v(*^∇’)乂(‘∇^*)v^☆

---

    Katsuki narrows his eyes at his phone. He doesn’t even notice the cosplayer who shouldered him since he was standing in the middle of a walkway. He figures he can save his explosive anger for later, when he’s got more energy. Right now, he’s feeling almost uncharacteristically overwhelmed. There’s a weight tied to his hands and they’re yanking him right to the ground.

---

Nothing has happened

---

> Uraraka

Well what’re you doing right now?

---

---

Standing in the middle of a fucking convention first floor looking lost as hell

---

> Uraraka

All by yourself??? ∑(ﾟﾛﾟ〃)
What about izuku??

---

---

Went off on his own

---

> Uraraka

YOU DIDN’T FOLLOW HIM???
BAKUGOU-KUN!!!

---

---

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU YELLING FOR

---

> Uraraka

Why didn’t you explore with him??
You’re missing out on some cute izuku moments!!!
He’s the cutest when he’s nerding out over anime!!!! (((( ;°Д°))))

---

> Kaminari

DUDE WAIT THATS FUNNY THOUGH
IMAGINE BAKUGOU ALL ALONE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CON
THATS HYSTERICAL
HOW ARE U HOLDING UP MAN

---

---

AWFUL, THANKS FOR ASKING
Deku himself said I didn’t need to trail him
He knows I don’t give a fuck about this dumpster fire

---

> Kaminari

sounds like youre the dumpster fire LMAO
you dont fit in at all

---

> Uraraka

Maybe he actually wanted you to follow him!! ━Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━

---

> Kaminari

OHHH YEAH URARAKA IS ONTO SOMETHING
HE COULDVE BEEN HOLDING OUT FOR YOU
DID HE ASK U
WAIT YEAH HE DID BECAUSE HE WANTED YOU TO COME ALONG IN THE FIRST PLACE
THAT MEANS HE DEFINITELY WANTED YOU AROUND

---

---

Well FUCK
MY LIFE

---

> Uraraka

You can still find him!!! I believe in your bakugou-kun!!!
He can’t be too far right??

---

---

We split an hour ago

---

> Kaminari

oof
that means he could be anywhere

---

> Uraraka

Hold on let me channel my inner izuku energy... (つ▀¯▀)つ
⊂(▀¯▀⊂)

---

> Kaminari

sunglasses??? lol

---

> Uraraka

SH
It’s what I do when I try to think like izuku!!
Do not disturb me!

---

> Kaminari

*whispers* ok

---

---

Jesus christ

---

> Todoroki

What the hell is going on here.

---

---

Well aren’t you fashionably late
Bastard

---

> Todoroki

Hello, Bakugou.

---

> Kaminari

LMAO

---

> Todoroki

Bakugou, why didn’t you follow Midoriya?
Well, I KNOW why you didn’t, because you told me why before, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it.
You’re on a date with him.

---

> Kaminari

yoo todoroki out here spitting facts
colder than a bag of ice
now freeze
*echos* freeze
*echos quieter* freeze

---

---

Pikachu
What the FUCK are you talking about

---

> Kaminari

idk i heard some wise guy say it once

---

> Uraraka

Sorry guys my izuku channeling didn’t work （■Д■*）

---

> Todoroki

Your what channeling?

---

---

You all are wasting my goddamn time
I’ll just look around

---

> Todoroki

Why don’t you just text him?
I’m sure he’d love to receive a text from you.
Especially when he’s in his favorite place in the world.

---

> Kaminari

oh man todoroki is so smart

---

> Uraraka

HAHAHAHA

---

> Todoroki

Why are you laughing, Uraraka?

---

> Uraraka

Because that’s funny (*´ω｀)o

---

> Todoroki

Rude.

---

---

She’s right
You’re an idiot
I’ve had to deal with your idiocy for years

---

> Todoroki

You and I are on the same level of emotional incompetence, so therefore our levels of idiocy are also alike.

---

> Kaminari

OUCH
suddenly i feel like i shouldnt be here

---

> Uraraka

OK ANYWAY
GO GO GO BAKUGOU-KUN!!! ＼＼\(۶•̀ᴗ•́)۶//／／

---

    Maybe Ochako isn’t that bad after all. She definitely seems to know Izuku better than anyone in that stupid group chat, and she’s always thinking about how to help Katsuki, even though he’s blown her off way too many times to count.

    Anyway, he doesn’t dwell on that braincell-losing conversation and pulls up Izuku’s text messages. The last convo they’ve had was two days ago, prior to... well, that thing that happened yesterday. What were they talking about again? Goats?

    Katsuki doesn’t give a shit about goats.

Deku

---

Hey
Where are you right now

---

---

Hi Kacchan! ＼\ ٩( ᐛ )و /／
I’m on the second floor
There’s an area full of fan-created content and I’m visiting the booths!
Why do you ask?

---

---

No reason

---

---

Then why’d you bring up the question? Σ(-᷅_-᷄๑)

---

    Katuski’s considering just bailing entirely, in that he’ll just zoom over to his hotel room and stay there for the rest of the day. He’s got no reason to wander around; he doesn’t understand anything he’s seeing with his own two eyes.

    But before he impulsively does so, Shouto’s words ring in his head -- well, they’re actually more like an irritating buzzing noise from a fly -- and Katsuki’s not going to lose to some half-and-half clod who dyes his hair the colors of the Canadian flag.

---

Can I follow you

---

    He’s sweating. His hands are damp with perspiration and he’s suddenly feeling super heated, like he’s a furnace himself. Katsuki knows that his body temperature’s fucked like a broken AC, but this is just absurd. He can’t believe he’s getting this nervous over such a simple question. It’s not even that personal. It’s not personal at all, actually. It’s just--

    Izuku’s typing. Katsuki has never felt more intimidated by three dots.

    You know what? Maybe I’ll just go back to the food court and stick my head into one of those fryers and then deep-fry my fucking brain--

---

Of course you can!!! ヾ(＠^∇^＠)ノ
I can wait for you in front of the area entrance!
There’s a pretty big standee sign that says “Fan Booths” and there’s an All Might cardboard cut-out right next to it
You have your ticket card, right?
Don’t lose it, because you’ll need it to get around ヾ( ~▽~)ﾂ

---

    Well, Katsuki’s a fucking moron for fearing Izuku of all people.

He meets up with Izuku at the fan booths entrance. He’s surprised to see that Izuku’s already decked out in clothes and merch that he didn’t even come with. He’s wearing a new hat ( All Might themed, which is a surprise to absolutely no one) and some buttons on his sweater. Some of them are All Might again, but some aren’t -- Katsuki doesn’t know what they are, and he’s sort of glad he doesn’t.

    “Kacchan!” Izuku calls out with the brightest smile in the goddamn universe and a massive wave with his whole arm. He looks completely unbothered by Katsuki just barging in like the fucking Kool-Aid man. Maybe Denki was right. Fuck no, stop getting your hopes up right now you big stupid baby.

    “How much money’s on you?” is Katsuki’s makeshift greeting, because he’s really fixated on Izuku’s new wearings. Why the fuck does he have those? How the fuck does he have those already? It hasn’t even been that long since they’ve arrived.

    Izuku’s eyes point to the elevated ceiling in thought. “Uh, I’m not really sure. I’m using my credit card, so...” He blinks before looking back at his roommate. “Why’re you asking?”

    “Because you’ve bought this lame-ass hat,” Katsuki replies as he pops the cap off Izuku’s head and examines it. It’s black, with tiny All Might-like hair strands poking out from the top. They kind of look like bunny ears, if bunny ears were misshapen and pointy and yellow.

    “Oh, a fan creator’s making them in large batches. I thought the design was cute, so I got one for myself,” Izuku explains, but all the while he’s extending his hand in a lousy attempt to get it back. “Kacchan, give it!”

    Katsuki holds the hat above his head and feigns apathy. “Oh man, I wonder what it would be like if I tossed this over the balcony.”

    “Not funny!” Izuku retorts before quickly snatching it back from the blond’s hand. He gives Katsuki a nasty glare as he stuffs it back over his tousled hair, but what, is Katsuki supposed to feel guilty about that? Izuku’s cute when he’s ticked off. “This cost me like a thousand yen, you know.”

    “A thousand yen for a cap?” Katsuki says with an eyebrow raise.

    “It’s important to support creators!” Izuku says back with a furrow of his own. “Fan creators or not, they’re still dedicated to their craft.”

    Oh, so Izuku’s a code-of-honor guy, too. Katsuki honestly thought he’d escaped that bullshit after Tenya kicked him, but he’s surprised how little he minds that straight-laced attitude. Maybe it’s because Izuku’s is a severely watered-down version, or maybe it’s just because it’s Izuku and Katsuki is already swept into the waves of Izuku adoration. Or whatever Denki said during a late-night Bakutaskforce text ramble. Katsuki doesn’t really feel like checking back on that absolute gibberish.

    “Anyway,” Izuku adds, “why’d you decide to join me all of a sudden?”

    “Got lonely,” Katsuki responds promptly. Might as well say the truth if he’ll say anything at all, but he’s sure he doesn’t have to go in-depth. The in-depth explanation is just really fucking embarrassing.

    Izuku laughs this sing-songy laugh and Katsuki feels his stomach twist a little. Fuck, Katsuki has it bad. He has it really, really, really bad. “I bet you got all lost because you have no idea how cons work.”

    “Fuck no, I love directions.”

    “Do you?”

    “ Do you? ” Katsuki parrots mockingly, rolling his eyes faux-disinterestedly. “We gonna stand here forever or what?”

    “Nope! Let’s go!” Izuku shows the security guard his ticket card, motions for Katsuki to do the same, before they re-enter the fan booths area.

    So Ochako was right about one thing (actually she was right about many things, but Katsuki’s not addressing those right now), and that one thing is Izuku being almost foolishly adorable in the presence of nerd content. His eyes light up like stars as he bounces from booth to booth, striking amicable conversation with creators, cosplayers, and fellow con-goers alike. Izuku’s got this thing where he talks with his hands, but when he’s enthusiastic, his hand movements are suddenly much more complex and frenzied, like he’s trying to tell a whole movie through gestures.

    Compared to Izuku’s extremely sunny disposition, Katsuki feels like some random pebble on the side of a gravel road. His roommate is definitely in his element, but Katsuki could not be more misplaced. He doesn’t check out fan content, he doesn’t talk to people; nope, he just follows around like a stray puppy. Does that take a stab at his pride? Sure does, but he’s on a date.

    He’s on a date.

    With a totally cute nerd.

    So.

    Katsuki will admit, there’s a lot of really cool fan artists with booths full of impressive content. And he thinks he spots a fellow university student running one of them, but he’s not sure until his suspicions are confirmed when Izuku spots her and waves excitedly. “Yaoyorozu-san! I didn’t know you had a booth at HydroiCon!” Izuku says as he, and consequently Katsuki, approach the stall.

    Yaoyorozu Momo, a young woman with a thick black ponytail looks up before smiling graciously. She’s likely cosplaying as some character from some series, but Katsuki doesn’t know who it is and he’s completely fine with being in the dark because he doesn’t give a shit. “Oh, Midoriya-san! Nice to see you here! My father has always been a supporter of my craft, so he assisted me in reserving this stand for my artwork.”

    She then glances at Katsuki and tilts her head. “Bakugou-san? You’re here too?”

    “Guess I am,” Katsuki grumbles, stuffing his hands into his track pants pockets.

    “Ah, I didn’t really take you as a convention kind of guy.”

    “He bought the tickets, so,” Izuku starts before moving his hands again and the sentence loses itself. 

    Momo seems to understand Izuku’s floundering and nods comfortingly. “Well, it’s always a pleasure to see fellow UA classmates partaking in such a wonderful event.”

    Christ, does Momo always talk like she’s the CEO of some bigshot company? It’s almost like she doesn’t belong here either, with her fancy language and her polite bows and the fact that she seems way too sophisticated to be indulging in nerd culture. If Katsuki knew her any less, he’d assumed she’d be interested in volunteering at homeless shelters or working at charities or something goody-two-shoes like that.

    “Anyway, how may I help you?” Momo says with a friendly grin. “Are you perhaps interested in any of my work?”

    Katsuki proceeds to drown out the nerd-out between Izuku and Momo when his phone gets another buzz.

Bakutaskforce

> Uraraka

Bakugou-kun!! I require a status update!!!
∕∕∕ ∕ ∕∕˛₍˴◅ˋ)੭✧∕∕∕ ∕∕

---

---

Found Deku

---

> Uraraka

Really?? Yay!!!
I’m proud of you!! ヽ(*⌒∇⌒*)ﾉ

---

---

Stop acting like my mom or some shit
It wasn’t that hard
I just texted him

---

> Todoroki

No, this is a big deal.
You’re terrible at initiating any sort of friendly activity, so the fact that you did with Midoriya is already a huge improvement from... well, your usual self.

---

---

Okay fuck off

---

> Kaminari

YOOOOO CONGRATS BAKUGOU
ILL POP THE CHAMPAGNE

---

> Uraraka

｡:.ﾟヽ(´∀`｡)ﾉﾟ.:｡+ﾟ

---

---

All I did was find Deku
Seriously it’s not that big of a deal
Wait is this a jab at my emotional ineptitude
I’ll fucking kill you guys

---

> Uraraka

Eep!! (((╹д╹;)))

---

> Kaminari

LMAO
no bakugou we really are proud of u
baby steps my guy

---

> Uraraka

YES baby steps!!

---

---

I’M NOT A CHILD

---

> Todoroki

Are you sure about that?

---

---

Half and half I’ll say this slowly so it gets through your thick skull
I
Will
Murder
You
So
Brutally
And
So
Painfully
You
Will
Regret
Ever
Insulting
Me
Even
Once
In
Your
Life

---

>Todoroki

Are you done?

---

> Kaminari

LMAOOOOOO

---

> Uraraka

BAHAHAHAHA

---

    “Kacchan!”

    Katsuki looks up in a flash, his brain suddenly disoriented from the shift from texting to real life. Real life being this huge con building with posters and booths and cosplayers and, okay, Katsuki’s basically back into the great unknown.

    “Who are you texting?” asks Izuku, looking at him with those big green eyes. It’s a good thing his roommate’s his tether in this vast infinite space that, for once, Katsuki doesn’t feel comfortable in. He’s said before that he’s never uncomfortable, but he’s uncomfortable now.

    Izuku makes it less unbearable, at least. Because with Izuku around, he knows there’s at least one thing keeping him from going completely bonkers.

    And also, he’s his crush.

    So.

    “Nobody,” Katsuki says quickly as he swiftly changes something in the group chat.

Bakugou changed the group name to “Study group 4”.

> Kaminari

yo what

---

> Uraraka

HAHAHAHA
I think bakugou-kun was caught!! (〃´∀｀)

---

> Kaminari

LMAO

---

Kaminari changed the group name to “bakugou is a coward”.

Uraraka changed the name to “bakugou is a coward... but we love him!!”.

Todoroki changed the name to “bakugou is a coward but it’s debatable on whether or not we love him.”.

At two in the afternoon, Katsuki and Izuku make a mad dash to the All Might meet-and-greet area. Turns out Izuku was so caught up in the spirit of stupid convention shit, he forgot to keep track of the time. (Though, a big part of the blame is also on Katsuki’s shoulders. He literally had nothing better to do than to check his watch every twenty seconds.)

    The meet-and-greet panel was back on the second floor, so the two really had to make a run for it in order to make it in time. When they reached the doors, they nearly threw their IDs at the security guards so Izuku could slide through the entrance like some secret agent maneuvering through obstacles. There weren’t obstacles, but Izuku treated it like this whole mission, and Katsuki thought it was fucking stupid... but cute. He ended up walking through the gate like a normal person and Izuku rolled his eyes as they secured spots in line.

    So now Katsuki is standing behind Izuku, phone in hand, as his watch reads two-twenty PM. There’s a shitton of people who signed up for the meet-and-greet, and because the two arrived relatively late, they’re at around the back of the line.

    Izuku doesn’t seem to mind though, with the fact that he’s bouncing on the balls of his feet and trying his hardest to peek through the sea of heads in the convention hall. He’s squeezing his ticket card for dear life, and has already told Katsuki like thirty minutes ago that he’d ask All Might’s voice actor to sign his notebook. (Katsuki didn’t even know that Izuku was carrying a notebook. Either his roommate is very good at hiding everyday items, or Katsuki’s grip on reality is really slipping hard now.)

    Because Katsuki really has nothing better to do, he checks that wretched group chat again in case something important has been said in the past two hours. It seems that the three are in a pretty heated conversation right now.

bakugou is a coward but it’s debatable on whether or not we love him.

> Kaminari

NO
YOU DONT UNDERSTAND
YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG

---

 

> Uraraka

I’M NOT WRONG!!! Σ(ﾟд´;ﾉ)ﾉ
I KNOW WHAT I’M SAYING!!!

---

> Kaminari

PRINCESS STARFRUIT DOESNT EVEN HAVE GOOD POWERS
ALL HER SPELLS ARE RANGED HEALING
BUT NOBODY IN THE IMMEDIATE PARTY EVEN NEEDS THAT
BECAUSE SHES ONLY PAIRED WITH TANKS MOST OF THE TIME

---

> Uraraka

THAT DOESN’T MAKE HER USELESS!!!

---

> Todoroki

Princess Starfruit is a queen.
Don’t disrespect her like this, Kaminari.
Sexism isn’t cool.

---

> Uraraka

YES
THANK YOU TODOROKI-KUN (*≧m≦*)

---

> Kaminari

HEY NOW IM NOT SAYING THAT SHES USELESS BECAUSE SHES A WOMAN
ITS JUST THAT PRINCESS DRAGONFRUIT IS WAY COOLER
SHES GOT INSANE ATTACK STATS AND DOESNT NEED A HEALER AT HER SIDE ALL THE TIME
SHES A STRONG INDEPENDENT WOMAN
PRINCESS STARFRUIT IS A STEREOTYPICAL DAMSEL IN DISTRESS WHO ONLY PERPETUATES THE CONCEPT THAT MAIN FEMALE CHARACTERS MUST BE WEAKER THAN THE MALE PROTAGONIST IN ORDER TO BE LIKEABLE AND THEREFORE THE GAME ONLY GAVE HER STEREOTYPICALLY FEMININE MOVES SUCH AS HEALER SPELLS AND BUFFS/NERFS

---

> Uraraka

Just because princess starfruit isn’t super buff and strong, doesn’t make her any less of an important princess!!! (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞
She’s so vital to the story!!!
And women are allowed to be stereotypically feminine, Kaminari-kun!!!

---

> Kaminari

WHAT story
theres barely a plot in these games!!!!
AND I KNOW THAT BUT STILL ITS KIND OF INFURIATING HOW WEAK THEY MADE HER BECAUSE SHES THE MAIN PRINCESS AND THE MAIN PRINCESS IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE KIND AND NURTURING ONE

---

> Todoroki

There’s totally a plot.
After all, Sir Appleton can’t restore Fruitopia without the help of the princesses.
And Princess Starfruit is the diplomatic, responsible, and helpful princess the world needs.
She’s practically the bridge between all the warring Fruitopia factions.

---

> Uraraka

THANK YOU TODOROKI-KUN!!!
FINALLY SOMEONE WITH SOME SENSE AROUND HERE
GIVE MY PRINCESS STARFRUIT SOME RESPECT!!! ヽ(#`Д´)ﾉ

---

> Todoroki

Princess Starfruit is super neat.
Princess Dragonfruit is awesome too, though.
And so is Princess Lychee.
And Princess Kiwi, even if she’s not very prevalent story-wise.
Can we all agree that Princess Grapefruit is the worst out of all the princesses?

---

> Uraraka

Oh yeah
She REALLY has no role in the story except being annoying 눈_눈

---

> Kaminari

yeah ill cede to that

---

---

Okay
What the actual fuck

---

> Kaminari

but princess dragonfruit is still the best princess i will defend her with my life
OH HEY BAKUGOU
we were talking about fruitopia: delicious slices

---

---

WHAT?

---

> Uraraka

There’s this jrpg that kaminari-kun, todoroki-kun and I all play, called “fruitopia: delicious slices”, and it’s really cute!!
It’s a cult classic for sure
I don’t think it was ever released outside of japan, and even here it’s not very popular （＞д＜）

---

> Todoroki

I told you to play it before, Bakugou, but you said it was too nerdy for you.
How does it feel to be ostracized from your own support group?

---

---

I hate you

---

> Uraraka

Anyway, since you’re here bakugou-kun, how’re you doing?? ヽ(=^･ω･^=)丿

---

---

We’re waiting in the meet and greet line

---

> Kaminari

HEY ACTUALLY MIDORIYA PLAYS THIS GAME TOO
ITS ONE OF HIS FAVORITES
IF YOU GUYS ARE BORED WHY DONT YOU GET A NICE LESSON FROM HIM ON THE GLORIES OF THIS WONDERFUL JRPG B)

---

---

Why the fuck would I ask him to explain this shit game to me
I’m not interested

---

    Right at that moment, Katsuki’s phone rings, knocking him out of the group chat and into a receive call screen. That idiot Denki’s calling like Katsuki’s not in the middle of a crowded con with his crush like two feet away and an increasingly obvious migraine incoming.

    He heaves a sigh and picks up. “What the fuck do you want, Pikachu?”

    “Put Midoriya on the phone!” is Denki’s order, and Katsuki is chiding every single nerve in his body to prevent him from yelling “FUCK OFF ASSHOLE” into the phone and then throwing it across the convention hall.

    With another sigh and a quiet curse, he prods Izuku’s shoulder with his phone. When he turns around, Katsuki presses the phone into his hand. “It’s Pikachu.”

    “Pikachu?” Izuku asks, confused, before recognition slides back onto his face. “Oh, Kaminari-kun?” He raises the phone to his ear. “Hi Kaminari-kun!”

    “Hey Midoriya!” (Katsuki put the phone on speaker so he can hear Denki too. It’s actually a stupid habit of his, because his hearing isn’t that great. Besides, it’s a really loud area so he’d probably miss everything Denki’s saying if he didn’t put on speaker. Why is Katsuki mentally explaining this? It’s not important at all.) “So Uraraka and Todoroki and I were talking about Fruitopia earlier and we wanted your input on something.”

    “Is it princess discourse?”

    “Dude, how’d you know?”

    “It’s always princess discourse,” Izuku says with a laugh. Katsuki hears his phone buzzing, which probably means the group chat’s still going strong. He can only hope Izuku doesn’t look at the screen and sees “bakugou is a coward but it’s debatable on whether or not we love him” because that’s a whole lot to unpack in a place where Katsuki doesn’t want to do any unpacking of any kind.

    Denki laughs back. “Are you a Princess Starfruit fan? I can’t remember if she’s your favorite princess or not.”

    Izuku shrugs, “not really.”

    “I knew it! I knew you had taste, man!”

    “It’s just that I think Princess Starfruit is a completely boring ‘healer princess’ archetype that I’ve seen so many times in video games already. She’s fine, I guess, but she doesn’t really have much of a role outside of being the diplomat. And that’s cool! But her characterization isn’t interesting enough for my tastes, personally. And I think the fact that her matchups aren’t even clever or helpful in any way just makes her more of a backseat princess. I’d rather use Princess Lychee, since she’s the tank kind, and she’s also got that large-range shield move that you can upgrade to after using enough seed points...”

    Katsuki hears a really loud buzz and decides that he can’t take any more risks. The phone’s merely centimeters away from Izuku’s eyes. His roommate could literally shift his line of sight mere centimeters and Katsuki would likely have to explain everything.

No thanks. The blond nabs his phone back and turns it off.

    “Hey, I was in the middle of a call!” Izuku whines before his mouth settles back into its signature pout. Shit, that’s cute.

    But Katsuki’s been living with Izuku for long enough to not fall for any of that crap anymore. “Phone’s dying,” he lies like a fox.

    “Whatever,” says Izuku. “It’s not like I wanted to talk to someone about ‘Fruitopia: Delicious Slices’ or anything...”

    Katsuki can feel the intense buzzing coming from his phone, which is now safely tucked in his pocket. The group chat must be going hog-wild right now, sending text after text about how Katsuki’s a bastard or something or other. And he’s almost 100% confident Denki only called him just to put him on edge; otherwise, he’d just call Izuku directly. Fuck that guy, honestly. He’s got great advice -- for some reason Katsuki still cannot understand -- but fuck him.

    That entire fiasco did last long enough for the line to considerably shorten, however. He and Izuku are now only about six or seven people away from the actors, which is making Izuku a hundred times jumpier. “Fuckin’ calm down, Deku,” Katsuki comments, because Izuku’s jumpiness is sort of making him jumpy too.

    “Sorry, I’m just so excited,” Izuku replies. He’s all giggly, those freckles on his cheeks alike constellations in the night sky. His smiles always brighten them, like a trigger or something. Katsuki wants to kiss them one by one, but he knows he’ll never be able to do that. That shit’s just weird. What the fuck, Katsuki?

    “It’s just some lame actors voice acting for some lame anime,” Katsuki mumbles, swallowing that embarrassing thought like it’s a pill he doesn’t wanna take.

    Izuku gasps as he throws a hand over his heart. “Kacchan, you know it’s not just some lame actors voice acting for some lame anime! All Might is one of the most influential shounen out there! The way All Might’s character is written seriously deconstructs the standard Gary Stu character trope by giving him a time limit; he’s only got godlike strength for a short period of time, and it’s hinted from the very beginning that All Might’s fate is pretty grim as the series goes on, since he has to keep compensating for his deteriorating health--”

    “Next up!” says the panel host, and Izuku spins around so fast, Katsuki almost mistakes him for a top spun on high gear.

    “T-Toshinori-san!” Izuku stammers as his ears flush red. He seems to be talking to a gaunt man with a skinny frame and an even skinnier face. His hair’s wild and free, even wilder and even freer than Izuku’s himself, and it’s coincidentally the same shade as his character’s (All Might, which Katsuki notices after reading the little name standee on the table). He’s wearing the blandest white shirt ever, which is completely outside of Katsuki’s expectations. For fucks sake, he voices All Might. That muscle man looks like the extra-ist parts of American superhero comic culture personified.

    Regardless, Toshinori Yagi gives the green-haired nerd a warm smile. At least, Katsuki thinks it’s a warm smile. It looks pretty out of place on his boney face, but it doesn’t look insulting or even vaguely dismissive, so Katsuki’s not picky about the specifics. And Izuku’s clearly even less picky, because he’s apparently meeting his all-time favorite inspiration.

    “Who might you be, young man?” Yagi asks in his All Might voice, and Izuku nearly dies on the spot.

    “M-Mido-- Midoriya... Midoriya I-I-Izu-- Izu--”

    “Midoriya Izuku,” Katsuki finishes for his roommate with an unimpressed eye roll. 

    “Midoriya-shounen?” says Yagi with a booming laugh. “Nice to meet you, young man! Always great to see dedicated fans of All Might .”

    Izuku nods his head so fast, Katsuki sees afterimages.

    “What do you want me to write? And what am I writing on?”

    Immediately Izuku shoves his notebook into Yagi’s hands, green eyes glistening with anticipation as he stutters a, “c-can you write ‘to my number one fan Midoriya Izuku, pl-plus ultra’, please?”

    The fuck is a “plus ultra?” Katsuki thinks.

    “Sure thing,” Yagi responds as he uncaps his marker and opens up to the first page of the notebook. Katsuki literally cannot be less surprised at how the first page is full of All Might stickers, with the exception of an orderly partitioned area reserved for Yagi’s signature and message.

    Yagi writes Izuku’s message neatly before scribbling his signature right below it. He then hands it back with another genial smile. “Thanks for coming, my boy! Would you like a photo before you head out?”

    Izuku seriously looks like he’s going to pass out, so it seems like Katsuki’s going to have to reply for him again. “Yeah, he’d like one.”

    The two stand next to each other, Yagi giving a pretty standard flexing arm, while Izuku holds up a peace sign paired with the happiest goddamn beam in the history of happy goddamn beams. The pure light illuminating from Izuku’s joy could probably power seven whole large cities. Power outages begone.

    Katsuki takes the photo. Actually, he takes like twenty. What? That’s what friends do, right? They take way too many photos and clog up the camera roll for no good reason, don’t they? Katsuki doesn’t know but he’s seen Shouto do it and it drives him up a fucking wall every time. Though it might just be because it’s Shouto and less about the practice itself.

    “Thank you so much, Toshinori-san!” Izuku exclaims with a million consecutive bows. He bows so hard and so fast, his cap goes flying off. He’s a total wreck. 

    “Anytime! Have a great rest of your con, my boy.”

    “You too!”

    Yagi then looks at Katsuki and gives him a kind smile, too. “Are you next in line, young man?”

    “Nah,” Katsuki says with a shrug. “I’m just following that guy around.”

    And he’s doing a damn good job at it, if he does say so himself.

Chapter Text

So there’s only one bed.

    “That’s so great,” Katsuki groans. “That’s so great. ”

    “There’s a couch over there,” Izuku says, and Katsuki should be shocked how he seemed to know exactly what Katsuki was so up-in-arms about, but in all honesty he’s pretty sure Izuku can read his fucking mind at this point. “I can take that, if you want.”

    “Nope, that’s mine,” Katsuki retorts instantly.

    Izuku blinks before shrugging. “Okay then!”

    That matter settled itself faster than Katsuki could deal with his own feelings, firing on all cylinders now that he’s come to the fateful realization that fuck fuck fuck I’m fucking sharing a hotel room with Deku and I am VERY well aware of how rooming in a fucking hotel is different than rooming in a fucking university dorm. But the fact that they’re not sharing a bed does help Katsuki breathe a bit better.

    Katsuki walks over to said couch and flops onto it. It reminds him of the bed in their dorm; in no way is he homesick after like, only seven hours of being away, but it’s comforting to feel that familiar plush under the cushions. The fact that the couch itself is just slightly more narrow than the XL twin in his dorm adds onto the immersion.

    He takes a deep breath and... accidentally falls asleep. He didn’t even think he was that tired, but then again he’s never forcefully exerted any sort of interest towards boring shit ever in his life. If Katsuki wasn’t interested, then he wasn’t going to do it. That was a motto he’d followed for years.

    Looks like Katsuki’s gonna finally retire that motto now that Izuku’s in the picture. That guy’s interests are Ying to Katsuki’s Yang. Why the fuck are conventions so fucking loud? And why is All Might so fucking boring?

    Katsuki wakes up two hours later, at seven in the evening. His head’s all groggy as he sits up and surveys the room. He didn’t take a good look prior to crashing and knocking out cold, but it’s a pretty nice room. Either Christmas Katsuki had a surge of hotel room professionalism or he picked all the preferences when he was half unconscious and not aware of what, exactly, his money was pooling towards. He doesn’t think he’s ever checked out a room as nice as this one when he travels alone.

    The room itself isn’t large at all, but it’s cozy, with one queen-sized bed and an equally-long couch (which, unfortunately, isn’t a pull-out, but Katsuki can manage). There’s a flat-screen TV resting atop a set of drawers along with a remote and a catalogue of channels.

    Though, arguably infinitely more important, is the nerd on the bed all snuggled up under the covers like he’s about to go to bed himself. In his hands is that old handheld console that Katsuki sometimes sees him with, and he’s concentrated on whatever’s on that screen. In fact, Izuku is so concentrated, he’s got his tongue sticking out ever so slightly as he scrunches his face and mashes buttons rather aggressively.

    Dammit, that’s cute. It’s even cuter when Izuku spots his roommate staring and smiles vividly in return. “Hey Kacchan!”

    “Hey,” Katsuki responds, as his brain screams at him at how fucking adorable that guy is. And he knows that, brain. He’s very well-aware. A little too well-aware now, if he’ll be honest. Life has only been a more elaborate, crush melt-down inducing hell after he’s figured out that whole shebang.

    “Were you that tired?” Izuku asks as he sits up, eyes returned back to the game. As he plays he continues, “you were completely out. I’m pretty sure you’d stay asleep through an earthquake, that’s how asleep you were.”

    Katsuki collapses back onto the couch as his face now faces the ceiling. One of his legs is hanging off the edge, slipping off the cushions, but yeah, Izuku’s right -- he’s way too tired to give a fuck about moving properly. “Cons are torture.”

    “Yeah, they’re pretty overwhelming at first,” Izuku agrees.

    “ At first? Are they not always out to fucking murder you?”

    “Once you get used to it, it’s like this super big rush of adrenaline!”

    “Doubt.”

    Izuku laughs. The sound of button-mashing almost sounds like white-noise given the repetitiveness of it. “It’s really not so bad after a while, but everyone’s different.” He crawls out of bed, Katsuki hears the footsteps, before Izuku’s head hangs over the couch backrest. It’s hovered over Katsuki’s eyes, like a verdant sun.

    “You’re a lot more antisocial than I thought,” Izuku says with a cheeky smile, two dimples appearing like additional stars on his already star-ridden face.

    “ Some of us don’t like indulging in mindless social events until our energies drain entirely and we become an empty fucking husk of a man,” Katsuki retaliates, but there’s absolutely no venom laced in his words. No sir, he just really wants to kiss that face. And it’s very close. Katsuki can bet they’re not even a foot away.

    That is, before Izuku boosts his head up again and the bubble pops. “I thought I was the antisocial one, is the thing! I’ve always been under the impression that Kacchan is more sociable and more charismatic than me.”

    Izuku’s lips tug into a smug smirk. “Though, after today, my predictions have been foiled.”

    “Shut the fuck up Deku,” Katsuki mumbles as he internally mourns the loss of their five-second moment. Hey, Katsuki’s reluctantly a coward, so he’ll take what he can get.

    That being said, Katsuki remembers the way the Bakutaskforce has always been pushing him to confess, like his pride can gamble a total blow to his ego if Izuku were to reject him. And Katsuki really wants to. He can’t help but think that maybe he really wants to be with Izuku, but not in the way that they are right now, where everything is purely platonic.

    Shit’s disgusting, the thought that he actually wants something with Izuku. Absolutely revolting. If he could, Katsuki would waterboard himself; what happened to four or five months ago, when Katsuki was practically dead set on dying alone?

    But then he’s reminded of how that one guy rejected him so badly, he’s feared confessing for the next three years of his life. Hell, he’s feared liking anyone, period, for the next three years of his life. After all, Katsuki’s a dick with his head up his ass 95% of the time, so he’s definitely no good in any kind of relationship. And he’s definitely not worth any kind of love.

    If Izuku were to actually reciprocate feelings, he’d be wasting his goddamn time and his goddamn energy. He might as well pursue someone way better, with a better personality and a better attitude towards life and way more relationship experience than Katsuki’s no experience--

    “Kacchan, are you zoning out again?”

    Katsuki’s suddenly dragged back into the real world, and the real world is fucking ruthless. Because in the real world, Izuku’s nothing more than an unattainable crush who’s too cute and too nice and too accommodating for a bitch like Katsuki.

    “So what if I am,” Katsuki replies lowly. He’d rather zone out than face the truth. The Bakutaskforce has done well, but they’re gravely overestimating Katsuki’s charm.

He has none. He has no charm. “What game are you playing?” Katsuki asks instead.

    “Oh, I was playing ‘Fruitopia: Delicious Slices’ because of my call earlier with Kaminari-kun,” Izuku responds, that all-too-familiar beam climbing his lips again. “Wanna see what it’s about?”

    Katsuki doesn’t have any other plans aside from moping around and sleeping, so he obliges. Izuku rambles on and on about the story and the characters, on how the playable characters are all human depictions of different fruits -- “kinda like Princess Peach but more literal,” he explains -- and how the main goal is to reunite the splintered Fruitopia factions, which are called slices. 

    Izuku then shows him some of the gameplay, and the level that he’s stuck on. He’s apparently played through the entire campaign once before, but the later levels keep tripping him up. The one he’s repeating over and over is this water level with seaweed-themed eels as mobs and Izuku has to evade them and watch his oxygen level without dying in the process. 

    The blond doesn’t play JRPGs often, because they’re not his thing -- fighting games are his thing -- but he gives it a shot anyway and whaddya know, he wins on the first try.

    “ How?! ” Izuku wails as Katsuki tosses it back into his roommate’s hands. They’ve been at this whole Fruitopia thing for a while now, so Izuku was bound to slip down the backrest and secure a spot next to Katsuki. “I’ve been trying so hard to beat this for the last like, hour! ”

    “I’m a fucking genius,” is Katsuki’s laconic response. He hopes the sudden blood pumping to his cheeks isn’t obvious as shit. They’re sitting side by side again, even though the couch is at least five and a half feet long. Katsuki is praying to every single god up there that Izuku’s an absolutely dense motherfucker who can’t sense Katsuki’s rising alarm at their shortened distance.

    Thank every single god up there, Izuku doesn’t seem to take notice. “But you haven’t even played this game before that level! Are you sure you’re not a secret Fruitopia fanboy?”

    “Why would I be so secretive about liking this game-- actually, yeah. I understand the second-hand embarrassment.”

    “ Are you a secret Fruitopia fanboy?”

    “Do I have three eyes?”

    “No?”

    “Then there you go,” Katsuki finalizes.

    Izuku rolls his eyes before he slumps into the couch, back sinking into the cushion behind him. His knee accidentally knocks into Katsuki’s as he presses more buttons on his controller. “I can’t believe I got bested by my noob roommate.”

    “Who the fuck still says ‘noob’ nowadays?” Katsuki asks, but he’s not really waiting for an answer. He glances over and Izuku’s completely immersed into the Fruitopia journey again, and likely doesn’t care for responding to Katsuki’s arbitrary question.

    Silence reigns once more. Izuku seems perfectly fine with sitting next to Katsuki without striking up any kind of conversation.

    Katsuki isn’t. Ideally he’d bear it; it’s not like Katsuki requires discussion like air. Under any other situation, Katsuki would actually be glad that he doesn’t have to talk to the other person.

    But this “other person” is Izuku. He’s not just some other person.

bakugou is a coward but it’s debatable on whether or not we love him.

---

Hey

---

> Uraraka

Hi bakugou-kun!! ヾ(＾∇＾)
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from you

---

> Kaminari

HEY DUDE
DONT TELL ME
DID U DO SOMETHING
BIG

---

---

No

---

> Kaminari

oh
then why were you away for so long dude

---

---

Deku was nearby so I couldn’t text freely
And I took a fat nap

---

> Uraraka

So where’s izuku now? (。･o･｡)

---

---

Right next to me

---

> Uraraka

Then why are you texting us???

---

> Kaminari

bakugou are you SURE u didnt do anything
u know
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

---

> Uraraka

OMG
BAKUGOU-KUN???????? （＊〇□〇）

---

> Kaminari

LOOK
LISTEN
THEYRE ALWAYS NEAR EACH OTHER.....
NEAR EACH OTHER COULD MEAN MANY THINGS
AND BAKUGOU TOOK A FAT NAP AFTER................
AND NOW THEYRE DIRECTLY NEXT TO EACH OTHER

---

---

OH MY GOD SHUT THE FUCK UP
NO WE DID NOT DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU

---

> Kaminari

oh

---

> Todoroki

Why do you sound so disappointed?

---

> Kaminari

idk my life is very boring
that was the most drama ive heard in forever
and it wasnt even real B(
cmon bakugou

---

---

Do you WANT me to do something like that

---

> Todoroki

No.

---

> Uraraka

Not particularly--

---

---

Ok then

---

> Uraraka

Whew that really threw me off guard!! ＼(;´□｀)/
This is literally none of my business but izuku is still my best friend so for a second there I was kind of worried!!
Like, what if you did that without confessing???
Izuku’s heart can’t take much of that!!! (´Д｀υ)

---

> Kaminari

anyway DID you confess yet??

---

---

No
I was actually gonna ask you guys that
If I should do it
Right now
Because I think I’m gonna pass out if I do
And I’m not really in the fucking mood to faint or some shit

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> Todoroki

Why are you texting us if Midoriya is so close?

---

---

He’s playing that dumbass Fruitopia game you guys love so much

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> Uraraka

THAT GAME IS NOT DUMB!!!

---

---

He’s way too focused on that shit
So he’s not paying attention to me right now
I could tell him right now
I could
Do that

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> Todoroki

Do you want us to hype you up?
Or talk you out of it?

---

---

That’s a great question
I don’t FUCKING KNOW

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> Todoroki

Then let’s make a pros and cons list.
Pros: you’ll be able to let out your feelings to the person you like. No more swallowing your adoration.

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> Uraraka

And if you confess, then you have a strong 50% chance of izuku reciprocating your feelings!!
（ﾉ｡≧◇≦）ﾉ

---

---

Only 50%???

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> Kaminari

and hey if you time it right it could be a super romantic moment B)
perhaps one of the most romantic moments of your life even
so
B)

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> Todoroki

You’ll probably feel better about opening up, even if the unfortunate happens and you get rejected.
Okay, cons: you could get rejected.

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> Kaminari

damn were just gonna dive right in huh
well,,,
if you get rejected youll probably feel awful for a while

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> Uraraka

It might get awkward??
Since both of you are in the same room but it’d be uncomfortable since you confessed and he couldn’t feel the same way ( •᷄⌓•᷅ )
And this time I won’t be there to save him
Not to mention, izuku is very good at being awkward...

---

---

You say that like it’s a fucking skill

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> Uraraka

Maybe the awkwardness could spread to your living conditions too, like back at your dorm

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> Todoroki

I think being rejected is really the only downside.
All the other cons I have in mind are just greater amplitudes of being rejected, like Midoriya hating you and avoiding you for the rest of your life.

---

---

WHAT THE FUCK
DON’T SAY THAT

---

> Todoroki

Oh, sorry Bakugou.
I didn’t mean to scare you or anything.
Genuinely, I apologize.

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> Kaminari

i don’t think midoriya would ever hate bakugou just because the guy confessed to him lol
hes too nice for that
if he ends up rejecting bakugou he will probably let him down easy

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> Todoroki

Yeah, Kaminari is right. Listen to him instead, Bakugou.

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> Uraraka

It really boils down to whether or not you feel like it’s a good time, bakugou-kun
Even if you end up not doing it today, izuku is very patient!! ﾍ(=￣∇￣)ﾉ
And he's simultaneously very bad at realizing that people like him HAHA
He keeps thinking he’s not really that interesting
So his self-confidence makes him think he’s not that desirable
You have time to sort it out!! ≡(*′▽`)っ
Don’t feel like you’re in any rush at all

---

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But he is interesting
I made a mistake
To think that he’s not

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> Uraraka

OMG ＼（＠；◇；＠）／
THAT’S SO CUTE???

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> Kaminari

lmao bakugou you are SO whipped
good for you B)

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> Todoroki

That was disgusting.
But that probably means that you’ve said something meaningful, since that embarrassment came from you.
Nice job.
Good luck, Bakugou.

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